Joel Burns , NCPS

Joel Burns is a UK-based psychotherapist with six years of professional counselling experience who works in an integrative, pluralistic way. He blends evidence-informed methods with a compassionate, creative style to address both immediate life stresses and longer-standing concerns. Joel supports people managing anxiety, panic attacks, depression, trauma, addiction, loss and grief, relationship and family difficulties, parenting challenges, career questions, and issues around identity and intimacy. He offers a warm therapeutic space where individuals can be heard and begin to untangle the patterns that keep them stuck.

Joel pays attention to how past experiences and relationships shape current behaviour and draws on techniques that increase self-awareness and insight. He takes a calm, non-judgemental stance and works at the client’s pace, often using mindfulness-informed approaches. He holds NCPS, a professional counselling credential that reflects his training and commitment to ongoing practice development.

Originally from the United States, Joel has studied and worked in multiple countries and is committed to supporting people from diverse backgrounds, regardless of culture, sexual orientation, gender, age, faith, or ability. His background includes training in counselling, sport, education, and social work, and he frames therapy as an educative, supportive process aimed at building coping skills, motivation, problem solving, and greater autonomy. Joel aims to collaborate with each person to foster self-understanding, resilience, and meaningful change.

Integrative approaches for online therapy and practical support

Joel uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients notice difficult thoughts and feelings without being controlled by them, and to clarify personal values so action can follow. ACT is often useful for anxiety, depression, and situations where someone feels stuck.

He also draws on Client-Centered Therapy, offering an empathetic, non-directive space in which the client’s experience guides the pace of work and supports self-exploration and emotional processing. This approach can help with grief, relationship issues, self-esteem, and life transitions.

Joel incorporates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques to identify and shift unhelpful thinking and behaviour patterns, teaching practical skills for managing symptoms like panic, low mood, and sleep difficulties.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Joel works with clients to tailor methods to their needs, goals, and preferences, mixing elements of different therapies as appropriate and checking in together about what is helping.

Online therapy with Joel is available by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, offering flexibility for varied schedules and circumstances. These options make it easier to access support from different locations and to choose the format that feels most comfortable for each person.