Esther Pinder, BACP

Esther Pinder holds an Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling from the Iron Mill College in Exeter and a first class honours degree in Psychosocial Studies from Goldsmiths College, University of London. With eight years of clinical experience, she works with people facing anxiety, depression, low self-worth and challenges around identity, offering a compassionate and practical approach to therapy.

She believes that reconnecting with different parts of the self can reveal strengths that have been hidden or lost over time. Esther helps clients explore those parts so they can develop greater self-value and care, and come to accept that identity is often complex and changing. Her private practice includes support for recent life changes and loss, alongside longer-term issues such as abuse and grief.

In sessions Esther draws on integrative, evidence-based techniques to break cycles of overthinking and stuck thinking. She uses metaphors and imagery to describe feelings, offers theories or models to aid understanding, and teaches practical strategies to reduce anxiety, including breathing and senses-based exercises. She also gently explores the background and context that may have shaped unhelpful patterns of thought and behaviour.

Esther adopts a collaborative stance and will not tell clients what to do; she treats each person as the expert on their own life and aims to support discovery and self-understanding. Sessions are weekly 50 minute video appointments scheduled in advance. Clients may also share writing between sessions via messaging, and Esther reads messages and responds at set times only, so this is not suitable for on-the-spot or crisis support. Esther is a member of the BACP - the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Integrative approaches and online sessions

Esther works from an integrative counselling perspective, combining techniques drawn from different evidence-based approaches so therapy can be tailored to the person and their needs. This approach supports work on issues such as anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties and identity concerns by drawing on the methods that best fit each client.

She also uses imagery and metaphor alongside explanatory models to help people make sense of emotional patterns and to view problems from new angles. These tools can be useful for reducing overthinking and for building clearer self-understanding. Practical anxiety management techniques such as controlled breathing and senses-based grounding are introduced to provide immediate relief and teach simple skills that can be used between sessions.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process - Esther will work with each person to identify what feels most helpful based on their goals and preferences. Online therapy offers flexibility, allowing sessions by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging so clients can access support from home or wherever suits them. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to continue work consistently even when schedules or circumstances change.