Sayma Arshad , BACP

Sayma Arshad is an integrative counsellor with MBACP accreditation, bringing more than 13 years of experience across the NHS, social services and charity sectors. She also trained as a social worker, which informs her understanding of how social and environmental factors can affect mental health and day-to-day wellbeing. Her background includes frontline roles supporting vulnerable people with learning differences and mental health conditions as well as working alongside other mental healthcare professionals.

She combines a broad range of therapeutic methods to match each person’s needs, drawing on humanistic, person-centred, transpersonal and spiritual perspectives alongside cognitive-behavioural, psychodynamic, rational-emotive, solution-focused brief therapy and trauma-focused techniques. As an integrative practitioner she tailors the blend of approaches for each client and places a high priority on building a quality therapeutic relationship and trust as central to progress.

Sayma has worked with a wide variety of concerns including depression, anxiety, parenting difficulties, bereavement, self-esteem and relationship issues, as well as career challenges, childhood abuse, ASD and ADHD. Her experience extends to relationship betrayal, emotional and physical abuse, complex trauma and PTSD, narcissistic abuse, supporting adult survivors of abuse and work-related stress. Colleagues and clients have found her warm, empathic and patient, and she aims to listen carefully and support people to move toward their goals.

Attachment, Client-Centered Care, and CBT for Online Support

Sayma draws on Attachment-Based Therapy to explore how early relationship patterns shape current connections and emotional responses - this approach can help with intimacy issues, relationship difficulties and healing from attachment-related wounds. She also uses Client-Centered Therapy to create a compassionate, non-directive space where the client’s perspective guides the work, which supports self-exploration, self-esteem and coping with life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is another key element of her practice, offering practical strategies to identify and reframe unhelpful thoughts and to develop different patterns of behaviour for anxiety, mood concerns and stress management.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the process and Sayma works collaboratively with each person to decide what fits best based on needs, goals and personal preferences. She will discuss options, try techniques together and adapt methods as the work develops to ensure the approach feels useful and relevant.

Online therapy via video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging provides flexibility for scheduling and lets people access licensed professionals from different locations. These options make it easier to maintain continuity of care around work, family or travel commitments and to choose the format that feels most comfortable for day-to-day use.