Victoria Porteous , NCPS

Victoria Porteous is a United Kingdom based therapist with 11 years of clinical experience and the NCPS credential, a recognised qualification in counselling and psychotherapy. She brings both professional training and personal experience of therapy to her work, having first engaged in counselling at age 22 after her mother passed away. That period of grief and a history of self-defeating behaviours, combined with an addictive temperament, shaped her understanding of loss, anger and recovery and informs the practical, empathetic stance she takes with clients.

Victoria makes sessions conversational and personable, often using humour to ease difficult conversations and avoiding reductive clinical checklists. She balances warmth with gentle challenge to help clients consider fresh perspectives and build new habits. During the COVID period she partnered with a government-backed trauma charity to run their counselling services for 18 months, working mainly with complex trauma survivors, and she also supports people referred through charities and government or medical channels.

Her practice covers relationship and family issues, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, coping with life changes, stress, anxiety, addictions, grief, parenting and intimacy-related concerns, among other areas. She has particular experience with estranged family relationships, blended families and step-parenting, and is qualified as a Menopause Healthcare Professional. Victoria has received high client ratings averaging 4.9 to 5 out of 5, and has testimonials from notable figures including a former executive of Glasgow City Council, a leading criminal defence and human rights lawyer in Scotland, and a Paralympian gold medalist who is a Nike athlete. A regular contributor on national radio about mental health, social equality and current affairs, Victoria also draws on skills from a previous career as a private investigator - attentive listening, reading non-verbal cues and asking focused questions - to tailor therapeutic work to each individual. She offers counselling and coaching through her private practice with the intention of being the therapist she wished she had during her own difficult times, and she invites people ready to make meaningful changes to book sessions with her.

Therapeutic Approaches and How They Work Online

Victoria blends evidence-informed methods to help clients explore values, relationships and emotional patterns. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on accepting difficult thoughts and feelings while clarifying personal values and taking committed action - it supports people coping with anxiety, avoidance and life transitions. Attachment-Based Therapy explores how early relationship patterns shape current bonds and communication, helping couples and individuals address trust, intimacy and abandonment issues. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a non-judgmental, empathetic therapeutic relationship in which the client leads the pace of change and the therapist offers unconditional acceptance and understanding.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work itself. Victoria collaborates with each person to identify goals, preferences and what feels most useful, adjusting methods as progress unfolds so that therapy fits the client rather than the other way around.

Online therapy options - including video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging - make it easier to access consistent support around work, family and life demands. These formats offer flexibility for scheduling, allow therapy to continue despite geographic constraints, and enable people to engage in ways that feel most comfortable while working with licensed professionals and experienced therapists.