Counsellor profile
Vivienne Robertson, BACP
Counsellor - Stress and relationship issues
See online counselling options- Client-centred approach
- CBT techniques
- Gottman Method
About Vivienne
Counsellor and BACP member Vivienne Robertson has 30 years of experience supporting people with stress, anxiety, depression and relationship concerns in the United Kingdom. She also works with people facing grief, life changes, sleep problems, anger and issues around intimacy. Vivienne lists coaching and work with frontline staff among her areas of practice.
She trained to postgraduate level, completing a Master of Science in Mindfulness Studies from the University of Aberdeen. Vivienne has worked in agencies such as Relate and in the National Health Service, and she has substantial private practice experience. She is a senior accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
Vivienne uses a mix of talking therapies. She draws on client-centred work to keep sessions focused on the person’s own priorities. She uses cognitive behavioural ideas when thinking about unhelpful thoughts and patterns. Dialectical behaviour skills are part of her approach for managing emotion and building coping strategies.
She also brings methods for relationship work, including the Gottman Method, and has experience with eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing for trauma-related issues. In practice she combines these tools to address things like communication problems, abandonment or attachment concerns, and difficulties after separation.
Sessions aim to be practical. Vivienne helps people develop clearer ways of handling workplace stress, family problems and feelings of emptiness or shame. She works in line with the BACP Ethical Framework and keeps the focus on realistic steps that can be tried between meetings.
How her approaches work when counselling online
Vivienne uses client-centred work to keep sessions focused on the person’s priorities. That means the counsellor listens to what matters most and helps people set the aims for each session. Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, offers straightforward tools to spot unhelpful thoughts and test new ways of thinking and behaving. It is often used for anxiety, low mood and sleep difficulties.Dialectical behaviour therapy, or DBT, adds skills for managing strong emotions and improving how someone copes day to day. This can be useful when feelings are intense or when someone needs practical ways to regulate mood between sessions. Vivienne may also use relationship-focused methods to work on communication and patterns that get in the way of intimacy.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. The counsellor will talk through your situation and help decide which methods suit your needs and goals. That decision is made together and can change as the work progresses.
If you want to use remote sessions, please confirm the current session formats before booking. The main practical benefit is fitting counselling into everyday life - it can make it easier to attend around work or family commitments, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time. Registered or accredited professionals can adapt exercises, homework and relationship work so they work well at a distance.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
30+ years
Listed in
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She helps people with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and intimacy issues, grief, sleep problems, anger and life changes. Additional focus areas include abandonment, attachment and communication problems.
What style of therapy does she use?
Vivienne combines client-centred work with cognitive behavioural (CBT) and dialectical behaviour (DBT) ideas. She also uses EMDR and the Gottman Method where relevant.
How much experience does she have?
She has around 30 years of clinical experience, including work for Relate, the National Health Service and private practice.
Which professional body is she a member of?
She is a senior accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, listed as BACP.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the UK work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are sessions arranged and what do they cost?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time. Specific fees depend on the location and service option chosen.
How do I begin a first session?
Use the See online counselling options button, complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule a first session.
Details come from information the counsellor supplied to BetterHelp. A membership or registration can be checked on the professional body's own register.
Online counselling is not emergency care. In an emergency call 999, or see the help numbers.