Cathleen Brentnall, BACP

Cathleen Brentnall is a counsellor who focuses on midlife concerns and the knock-on effects they bring. She offers a calm, respectful space to talk through relationships, grief, career stress, anxiety and changes that come with life transitions. Cathleen writes plainly and listens closely to what matters to each person.

With ten years of counselling experience and a BACP credential, she draws on a range of approaches to match the person in front of her. Cathleen uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Emotionally-Focused Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing as part of her work when appropriate. She also practises client-centred ways of working that keep the conversation rooted in the client’s own goals and values.

Her background includes work with relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, parenting matters, grief and loss, eating and sleeping problems, mood conditions such as depression and bipolar, and ADHD. Additional focus areas include body image, chronic illness and caregiver stress among others.

Cathleen adapts sessions to how each person learns and makes decisions. She pays attention to strengths, how people use their energy, and practical steps that fit daily life. Faith and spiritual beliefs can be included in sessions when clients want that to be part of their work.

Based in the United Kingdom and offering work in English, she aims to build clear plans clients can follow between meetings. The approach is collaborative, with the counsellor and client deciding next steps together.

Therapeutic approaches and online working

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, focuses on the links between thoughts, feelings and actions. It helps people spot unhelpful patterns and try practical changes that can improve mood and reduce anxiety. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, ACT, encourages people to clarify what matters to them and to take small steps toward those values while managing difficult thoughts and feelings. Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, EMDR, is used to address distress linked to past traumatic memories by working with how those memories are held in the body and mind.

Finding the right approach is something to do together. Cathleen will discuss options and adapt methods to fit a person's goals, preferences and life circumstances. The choice of techniques can change over time based on what is helping in sessions and between appointments.

Please confirm which session formats are currently offered before booking, as the biography does not list specific formats. Online therapy can make it easier to fit counselling into a busy week, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also help people access support from different locations, and the therapist will work with each person to plan sessions that fit their routine and practical needs.