- Client-Centred approach
- Somatic work
- Trauma focus
About Isla
Isla Donaldson is an NCPS counsellor in the United Kingdom with five years' experience. She works with stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem and depression, including issues connected to guilt and shame.
Isla uses a person-centred approach that keeps the client's experience at the forefront. Sessions focus on what matters most to the client and move at a pace they find manageable. She pays attention to bodily sensations as part of understanding feelings and memories.
Her practice draws on Client-Centred Therapy, Existential ideas and Somatic work alongside Trauma-Focused Therapy. That means conversation about thoughts and beliefs is used together with noticing physical responses. This can help when past events or losses keep repeating in day-to-day life.
Isla has worked over the last five years with adults and young people on a wide range of problems. She has particular experience supporting people who have lived through sexual assault, other abuse, or who struggle with self-harm and suicidal ideation. She also addresses issues such as attachment, abandonment, body image and loneliness.
Her training includes a first-class BA in Humanistic Counselling Practice and further study in somatics, Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems and trauma-related methods. She describes therapy as a collaborative process where questions about meaning, identity and how to move forward are explored together.
To begin, clients are invited to make contact, discuss what has brought them to therapy and consider practical steps for booking a first session.
How therapeutic approaches are used in online sessions
Isla works from Client-Centred and Somatic approaches that translate well to remote work. Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening, clarifying what matters to the client and following their pace; it helps with self-esteem, relationships and emotional clarity. Somatic Therapy pays attention to bodily sensations and movement as signals of feeling and memory, which can help when trauma or persistent shame shows up in the body.Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the early work. Isla will discuss goals, preferences and what feels most useful, and then adjust the way she works so it fits the client's needs. This is a collaborative process where methods are tried and reviewed together.
Please confirm which session formats are currently offered before booking, as the biography does not specify formats. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions around daily life, for example by reducing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins when schedules are tight, or offering options that do not require being on camera. Registered or accredited professionals commonly use these practical benefits to help therapy fit into everyday routines.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
5+ years
Listed in
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What sort of problems does she support?
She works with stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem and depression, and also addresses related concerns like guilt and shame.
How does she approach feelings of guilt and shame?
She uses a person-centred way of working that combines talking about thoughts with attention to bodily sensations to understand and process these feelings.
What is her clinical background?
She has five years' experience and a first-class BA in Humanistic Counselling Practice, with additional training in somatics, trauma work and related topics.
What credential does she hold and where does she practise?
She is listed with NCPS and is based in the United Kingdom.
Can I work with her if I do not live in the UK?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not currently accepting international clients.
What session formats are available?
Please confirm the current session options before booking, as formats were not specified in the biography.
How are sessions paid for?
Costs vary with location and sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I start working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.