Shelley Murphy, ACA

Shelley Murphy is an ACA counsellor with 16 years of experience who helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain and changes in life direction. She aims to make the first step feel manageable and offers calm, practical support for people wanting more fulfilment. Shelley works in plain language and focuses on each person’s strengths and values as a starting point.

She believes people are the experts in their own stories and brings a respectful, non-judgemental presence to sessions. Conversations centre on what matters to the client, building confidence and clearer choices. Shelley pays attention to patterns such as attachment and communication that can make relationships and everyday life harder.

Her approach mixes acceptance and commitment ideas with cognitive techniques and emotion-focused work. This means clients learn skills for handling difficult thoughts and feelings while also clarifying what they want from life and relationships. Shelley adapts practical tools to suit how people live day to day.

Shelley has worked across a wide range of concerns including grief, trauma, parenting stress, addiction and issues linked to self-esteem and body image. She also supports people exploring intimacy, commitment and attachment difficulties. Her work often includes straightforward problem-solving alongside deeper conversations about values and belonging.

People who choose Shelley can expect a collaborative, down-to-earth style. She helps clients break big problems into smaller steps and build strategies they can use between sessions. To begin, clients typically complete a brief matching questionnaire and then arrange sessions that fit their schedule.

How Shelley’s approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what truly matters to them and take small practical steps towards those values while learning to live with difficult thoughts and feelings. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on noticing unhelpful thinking and trying different behaviours to reduce distress and improve day-to-day coping. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns in close relationships and helps people understand how early connection styles influence how they relate now and feel in relationships.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Shelley will talk with clients about goals, preferences and what feels most useful. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust them over time so sessions match the person’s needs and pace.

If you are considering online therapy, check the current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed and remove travel time. It can also let people use simpler setups like audio-only calls if bandwidth or camera use is an issue. Confirm the available formats when you begin so arrangements suit your life and schedule.