Jay Cook, NCPS

Jay Cook is a counsellor who uses practical, people-focused approaches to help with major life changes. He works with adults facing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain and issues connected to identity, including LGBT concerns. Jay holds NCPS and has five years of experience working with clients from a wide range of backgrounds.

He keeps sessions straightforward and collaborative. Jay listens first, then helps people try out new ways of responding to difficult feelings. He uses evidence-based methods such as cognitive behavioural ideas and acceptance strategies alongside attachment-focused and client-centred ways of working.

Clients come with worries about career direction, parenting pressures, addictions, low self-esteem and trouble with intimacy. He also supports people dealing with trauma, anger, ADHD and the disorientation that can come in midlife. Jay aims to make goals clear and manageable so progress feels visible.

In practice he mixes short-term tools with longer conversations about values and relationships. Sessions might include practical exercises, noticing patterns in day-to-day life, and building small habits that reduce stress. He encourages regular check-ins on what is and isn’t helping.

Jay has worked with people across different countries, which informs his flexible approach. He invites clients to be curious about change and to try options that fit their life. To begin, he asks people to describe their current priorities and what they hope to get from counselling.

How Jay's approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that match their values; it is useful for anxiety, depression and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) offers practical techniques to spot unhelpful thinking and try different behaviours to reduce stress and improve mood. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how past relationship patterns shape current reactions and supports developing new ways of relating and feeling safe with others.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Jay treats this as a collaborative process and will discuss how different methods might fit a person's goals, preferences and day-to-day life. Together they will test approaches and adjust as needed rather than committing to a single method up front.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit counselling around work or family commitments, reduce travel time and allow people to have shorter check-ins when needed. They also make it possible to work with someone based elsewhere, which suits people living abroad or who have relocated.