Shivani Sood, ACA

Shivani Sood is an ACA counsellor with ten years' experience working with people facing stress, anxiety, trauma, grief and life changes. She presents as a clinician who aims to build a trusting, equal partnership where clients can talk about difficult experiences and start to feel safer in themselves.

Shivani uses a client-centred, holistic way of working. Sessions focus on understanding what matters to the person and finding realistic steps they can try between meetings. She emphasises self-compassion, practical coping strategies and steady progress rather than quick fixes.

Her background includes work with complex mental health presentations and a range of settings across different regions. That experience informs her sensitivity to diverse cultures and backgrounds, and to challenges such as work stress, bullying and caregiving strain.

Shivani has supported people through trauma, family and domestic violence impacts, narcissistic abuse, grief and life transitions. She also works with anxiety, mood concerns, attachment difficulties and some obsessive or impulsive behaviours. Her practice recognises how physical health, chronic illness and caregiving can affect mental well-being.

Sessions aim to help people build confidence, resilience and clearer direction. Shivani frames counselling as a collaborative process where curiosity and reflection lead to change. She welcomes people who are ready to take a first step and prefers to work in an open, non-judgemental way.

Therapeutic approaches and online counselling

Shivani describes her work as integrative and client centred, which means she draws on evidence-based techniques and adapts them to each person's needs. One common approach is trauma-informed work, which focuses on understanding how past hurt affects current thoughts, feelings and behaviour, and on building safety and coping skills. Another strand emphasises practical coping strategies for anxiety and stress, such as grounding, breathing exercises and gradual activity changes to reduce panic and overwhelm.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The counsellor will discuss goals, preferences and what has or hasn’t helped before, and together they will test methods that feel workable. That partnership helps shape the plan as progress is made and priorities change.

If you are considering online therapy, check the current session options before booking because formats were not specified in the original biography. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also help people keep continuity of care across different locations. Discuss with the counsellor how to structure sessions so they fit your routine and goals.