We specialize in a wide range of counselling issues, and offer support to individuals of all backgrounds and genders.
The team are Fiona Bird, Martin Buckley, Kelly Rodrigues, Jacqui Thomas and Alex Valls. Scroll down to read our profiles:
Alex is a hypnotherapist as well as counsellor. He helps clients manage stress, anxiety, self-esteem issues, and phobias. He has a special understanding of LGBTQ+ issues.
Alex also focuses on Personal Development -- helping clients maximise their talents -- and he will aim to help you achieve your life goals by looking towards your futur
Alex is a hypnotherapist as well as counsellor. He helps clients manage stress, anxiety, self-esteem issues, and phobias. He has a special understanding of LGBTQ+ issues.
Alex also focuses on Personal Development -- helping clients maximise their talents -- and he will aim to help you achieve your life goals by looking towards your future.
Alex studied counselling at WPF in London Bridge, studied as a hypnotherapist (Dip Hip CS), and also studied Brain Working Recursive Therapy (BWRT) with Terence Watts. Becoming interested in solution-focused therapy, he then trained to Advanced level (SFBT) with BRIEF in London.
Helping people is the priority for Alex; he has provided solution-focussed therapy to many clients struggling with drugs-related and prison backgrounds. With a focus on personalised plans and a caring, supportive approach, he wants to help all his clients on their journey towards greater well-being.
Fiona believes people already possess the capacity and potential to make changes that are right for them. It's a strengths-based approach that looks towards possibilities and hope rather than focusing on problems people are experiencing.
Fiona will spend a first session establishing the hopes that you have of counselling, working with
Fiona believes people already possess the capacity and potential to make changes that are right for them. It's a strengths-based approach that looks towards possibilities and hope rather than focusing on problems people are experiencing.
Fiona will spend a first session establishing the hopes that you have of counselling, working with you develop an idea of your desired future, drawing on your existing strengths and resources.
Fiona has been working with adults, young people, children and families for over 15 years in the charity sector, education, social care and in a therapeutic She is a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered therapist specialising in Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). She has a Masters in Drama and Movement Therapy and advanced trainings in Systemic Practice and Cognitive Behavioural Interventions. She is also a trained and practicing clinical supervisor.
Whether supporting young people to navigate college life, or complex relationship
dynamics, Kelly helps them to build confidence, and guides them through life's transitions. She asks reflective, respectful questions, designed to uncover resilience and promote self-efficacy. Kelly strongly believes in the inherent capacity for growth and
Whether supporting young people to navigate college life, or complex relationship
dynamics, Kelly helps them to build confidence, and guides them through life's transitions. She asks reflective, respectful questions, designed to uncover resilience and promote self-efficacy. Kelly strongly believes in the inherent capacity for growth and change in everyone. Her approach is warm, collaborative, person-centred, and non-judgmental. She aims
to help clients identify their strengths, clarify what matters most to them, and help them to
take practical, hope-filled steps toward meaningful change.
Kelly is a registered mental health nurse practitioner, with training in Compassion Focused
Therapy and Low-Intensity CBT. She has over 15 years of experience supporting
children, young people and adults in the NHS and children’s social care, and currently
provides therapeutic support in schools and colleges.
Using a person-centred approach, Jacqui has helped many people to discover and explore their strengths, confidence, and resilience, enabling their self-healing and emotional recovery, and supporting them to develop a clear idea of the kind of future they are looking for.
Jacqui's background has been as a mental health nurse, where she spe
Using a person-centred approach, Jacqui has helped many people to discover and explore their strengths, confidence, and resilience, enabling their self-healing and emotional recovery, and supporting them to develop a clear idea of the kind of future they are looking for.
Jacqui's background has been as a mental health nurse, where she specialized in the NHS and various charities to help individuals with chronic suicidal thoughts -- giving her huge experience with acute and urgent needs.
More recently, as an Advanced Level graduate of BRIEF in London, Jacqui has developed a practice in solution-focussed counselling. Jacqui divides her time between Devon and Chiswick, and has a long-standing relationship with ArtsEd, where her daughter was a student!
Martin spent two decades behind and in front of the cameras, producing and presenting politics, arts and travel documentaries for the BBC and Discovery Channel, working in 45 countries. He had the opportunity to direct many well-known actors, including Bill Nighy, and co-authored a play performed at the Edinburgh Festival. He has also wr
Martin spent two decades behind and in front of the cameras, producing and presenting politics, arts and travel documentaries for the BBC and Discovery Channel, working in 45 countries. He had the opportunity to direct many well-known actors, including Bill Nighy, and co-authored a play performed at the Edinburgh Festival. He has also written three books for Penguin, both fiction and non-fiction.
After becoming a father, Martin started lecturing on politics and creative writing at university, also collaborating on projects with the Acting and Performance degrees. Discovering a love of student counselling, he subsequently trained as a solution-focussed psychotherapist, and founded the BetterTalk therapy website. Martin is still a working journalist, and recently completed a feature-length documentary about Palestine. He sees therapy clients several days a week, currently including undergraduates and recent graduates from London and Bristol universities, and the Open University.
As a university psychology professor and counsellor working with students, Rose understands the challenges of university life.
As a university psychology professor and counsellor working with students, Rose understands the challenges of university life.
Whether it's helping you adjust to a new environment, manage academic pressures, navigate relationships, or simply trying to find your footing, she aims to have conversations where you feel heard and understood.
Rose believes everyone has the capacity to thrive, and deserves support without judgment. That old saying - A problem shared is a problem halved - turns out mostly to be true.
With Rose's expertise in psychological support, and your expertise in your own situation, you can jointly make the most of evidence-based techniques to move forward in life.
In Rose's university role, she specialises in studying communication and how to have trusting conversations, training doctors, nurses and teachers to communicate in ways that empower people to realise their strengths and become happier and more confident.
Notes:
(The following notes are for the attention of private clients of BetterTalk.UK)
* Typical session length is 50-55 minutes.
** Direct Debit payment is available on packages of 4 sessions and above. Terms are 50% up-front, followed by weekly payments. E.g. for the five-session package, you would pay £110 up-front, then three payments of £36.66 in weeks 3, 4 & 5.
*** Friends & Family Discount: The discount is valid for one purchased package only.
**** Evidence of status required. The unwaged, those on health benefits and students pay from £25/session. See the OUR LOW COSTS on the BetterTalk for Students tab.
Affordable Online Couples Counselling: please see the Couples Counselling tab for prices.
Specialist therapists: BetterTalk is the only UK therapeutic provider where every therapist has been trained to Advanced Level at the prestigious BRIEF Centre for Solution Focused Practice in London and is a member of the United Kingdom Association for Solution-Focused Practice (UKASFP).
SFT and CBT: Our core approach is SFT -- solution-focused therapy (see ABOUT tab for more); our team can also provide BACP-accredited CBT counselling as part of our affordable online therapy services.
Session Validity: Single sessions purchased are valid for two weeks, double-session packages for four weeks, four-session packages for six months, five & six-session packages for one year.
BetterTalk.UK Is a British therapy and counselling provider which offers affordable online therapy and counselling via single sessions and discount packages. It is not affiliated or associated in any way with betterhelp, the subsidiary of the US company Teladoc Health, Inc. (see BetterHelp UK Costs Revealed: 2025 Review & Price Guide and www.betterhelp.com.).
The contents of this website and the resources it links to are for informational purposes only and in no way represent contractual relationships or medical advice. Nothing here should be understood to diagnose any condition or in any way substitute direct communication with a BetterTalk practitioner, or your GP or preferred mental health advisor.
While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of all information provided here, it is intended as guidance only, and users of this site should independently verify such information as they find relevant to themselves.
BetterTalk 2025 - All Rights Reserved. BetterTalk.uk asserts its copyright and/or moral rights, as appropriate, with regard to the phrases: "Bettertalk"/"Better-Talk", "We'd Better Talk", "You can talk to us", "Find Affordable Online Therapy" and "Book a Conversation Now".
This website uses cookies to analyze traffic and optimize your website experience, cookies are required. If you accept their use, your data will be anonymously aggregated with other user data.