Kay Holdsworth, BACP

Kay Holdsworth is an experienced and fully qualified counsellor, psychotherapist and coach based in the United Kingdom. She works predominantly with women who want to make positive, lasting changes in their lives, supporting those who seek clearer direction, better decision-making and improved wellbeing.

Kay focuses on equipping clients with practical tools and strategies to manage stress, anxiety, low mood and motivation difficulties. Her work is aimed at helping people move from feeling stuck and overwhelmed to a place where they can trust themselves again and experience greater calm and contentment.

She often supports clients who are unsure where to start with change, guiding them through manageable steps and tailored exercises. Where helpful, she introduces guided relaxations, breathing techniques and creative methods that invite imagination and new perspectives. Kay regularly sets practical tasks and experiments between sessions and encourages journaling when it suits the client’s process.

Kay qualified in 2017 with a Postgraduate Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy, an integrative and relational course. She has completed Solution Focused training in September 2021 and a Creative Counselling qualification in 2023. She also holds BACP accreditation, which denotes membership of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Her experience includes work as a Student Counsellor for a Leeds university three days a week and earlier roles as a Wellbeing Practitioner at the same institution for over four years. Kay has delivered more than forty community wellbeing courses, including a seven-week Head Space course, mindfulness and relaxation sessions at a psychiatric hospital, and she facilitated a mental health drop-in group called Peaceful Minds between 2018 and 2020. She offers appointments on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings.

Therapeutic approaches and online support

Kay frequently uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which helps people clarify what matters most to them and take small, values-driven steps even when difficult thoughts or feelings arise. ACT can be helpful for anxiety, low mood and challenges around motivation.

She also draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a practical, skills-based approach that explores the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and offers exercises to change unhelpful patterns. CBT is often used for stress, anxiety, low mood and managing unhelpful thinking.

Kay adapts these approaches within a client-centred, collaborative framework, listening to each person’s priorities and tailoring work to their needs. Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the process - she will work with clients to identify what fits best with their goals, preferences and life circumstances.

Online therapy with Kay is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging, providing flexibility for people with busy schedules or those who prefer remote access. These options make it easier to fit therapy into evenings and other commitments while maintaining continuity of care with a registered professional.