Shirley Rocks , BACP

Shirley Rocks is a counsellor with four years of experience supporting adults through difficult life seasons. She trained with the Mid Ulster Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapy and with Cruse Bereavement, where she developed focused skills in working with grief, loss, and emotional transition. As a member of BACP - the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - she brings an ethical, professional framework to her practice and a commitment to ongoing development.

Her work is compassion-focused, offering a respectful, non-judgemental space for people to explore what is troubling them at a comfortable pace. Shirley supports people with a wide range of concerns including grief and bereavement, addiction, sleep difficulties, anxiety, low self-confidence, depression, relationship and family issues, trauma, and periods of emotional overwhelm. She also works with focus areas such as attachment and abandonment issues, body image, parenting challenges, workplace stress, and eating or sleeping problems.

Each therapeutic journey is treated as unique, with Shirley tailoring her methods to match an individual’s strengths, needs, and goals to help build self-understanding, emotional resilience, and a kinder relationship with oneself. In addition to traditional counselling, she offers optional poetry and journaling as guided tools for expression, drawing on her experience as a poet and writer to help clients explore feelings that can be hard to name. Throughout, she aims to meet people with warmth, sensitivity, and compassionate encouragement as they move toward greater clarity and wellbeing.

Therapeutic approaches and flexible online support

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a practical approach that helps people clarify their values, accept difficult thoughts and feelings, and take committed steps toward a more meaningful life. It can be helpful for anxiety, depression, and ongoing stress where avoidance has become a pattern.

Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on the ways early relationships shape current patterns of relating and emotional responses. It supports work around abandonment, attachment issues, relationship difficulties, and family dynamics by exploring how past bonds influence present behaviour and connection.

Client-Centered Therapy places the person at the heart of the process, offering empathetic listening and unconditional positive regard so people can discover their own solutions and build self-understanding. This approach suits a wide range of concerns including low self-esteem, grief, and life transitions.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Shirley collaborates with each person to identify which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences, adapting techniques as the relationship and work evolve. This collaborative stance helps ensure therapy feels relevant and manageable.

Online therapy through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging offers practical flexibility for busy lives, those living at a distance, or people who prefer remote sessions. Licensed professionals and therapists can deliver the same thoughtful, evidence-informed approaches across these formats, making it easier to access consistent support in a way that suits individual routines and comfort levels.