Sharon McHugh, BACP

Sharon McHugh is a United Kingdom based counsellor who focuses on helping people recover from anxiety and trauma that stem from difficult childhoods, teenage years, or early adulthood. She guides clients who find themselves struggling with low self-esteem, people-pleasing, a sense of emptiness or not knowing who they are, and those coping with addictions, relationship or intimacy difficulties, and major life changes. Sharon frames therapy as a client-led process in which the person attending directs what comes to the session while she offers steady, empathetic support and exploration.

In the first session Sharon works with each person to clarify goals and agree a plan tailored to what they want to achieve. She uses open, curious questioning to understand experiences from the client’s perspective and to help make sense of repeated patterns, coping strategies, and emotional responses. Her experience spans private practice and work within external agencies, giving her a broad background in supporting people with anxiety, trauma, grief, stress, ADHD, panic, phobias, and related issues such as codependency and compassion fatigue.

Sharon holds formal qualifications as an Integrative Counsellor at Level 4, as a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist at Level 5, and a diploma in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. She is a member of the BACP - the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists - and regularly updates her training to bring a wider range of techniques into therapy. Sharon aims to create a non-judgemental, pressure-free space where clients can heal, grow, and move toward the life they want to build.

Approaches for Online Healing and Practical Support

Sharon integrates client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and hypnotherapy into her online work. Client-centered therapy focuses on providing an accepting, non-judgemental space where the client leads the conversation and the therapist reflects and supports the person to discover their own solutions - it is often helpful for building self-awareness, self-esteem, and trust in relationships. CBT is a structured approach that helps identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviours and develops practical strategies to reduce anxiety, depression, panic, and phobic responses. Hypnotherapy uses focused relaxation and guided attention to access underlying patterns and support changes in habits, sleep, or persistent emotional responses.

Finding the right combination of approaches is part of the therapeutic process. Sharon works collaboratively with each person to explore which methods suit their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting the plan as progress is made. This collaborative stance helps ensure the work feels relevant and manageable.

Online therapy with Sharon is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to provide flexibility for different lifestyles and needs. These options make it easier to attend regular sessions without travel, to fit work and family commitments, and to continue therapy through life transitions while working with registered professionals and therapists trained to deliver effective remote care.