Online — UK & worldwide
Online therapy, wherever you are in the world
Secure video sessions with the same structure, evidence base and warmth as sitting in the room, without the travel.
Who online therapy suits
Online suits most people who come to me, and some of them better than a room would. If you work unpredictable hours, live nowhere near a specialist, have people at home who depend on you, or find leaving the house hard, the session happens anyway.
It also helps when the problem lives at home. Checking, contamination worries and avoidance are easier to work on where they actually happen than described from memory in an office.
It is not right for everyone. If you are in crisis, need urgent psychiatric care, or would not have a private space to talk from, say so before booking. If I am not the right person for what you are carrying, I will tell you and point you somewhere better.
How online sessions work
Sessions happen over a secure, private video link. There is no account to create and no software to install. You receive a link before each session and open it at the agreed time.
A session lasts fifty minutes, the same as in the room. We agree a regular slot so the work has a rhythm, and you see the same therapist throughout. There is no rota and no handover.
All you need is a device with a camera, an internet connection that holds up, and somewhere you will not be overheard. Headphones help more than people expect.
Does it work as well?
Online CBT has been compared with in-person CBT across a long list of trials, and for anxiety, OCD, depression and PTSD the outcomes match. It is not a reduced version of the treatment. It is the same treatment, delivered differently.
That makes sense once you notice that CBT was always mostly about what happens between sessions. The exposures, the experiments and the practice all take place in your own life. A screen changes where the conversation happens, not the work that does the changing.
What the research cannot measure is fit. Whether you and your therapist work well together matters more than the format, which is why the first step is a free fifteen-minute consultation rather than a booking.
EMDR online
EMDR is the therapy people most often assume cannot be done online, and it is the question I am asked most. It can. The bilateral stimulation the treatment depends on works through guided eye movements on screen, or through tapping you do yourself, and both are established parts of the protocol.
The eight phases are unchanged. We still spend the early sessions on history and stability before any processing begins, and we still close each session properly rather than leaving something open.
Being at home can help here. Trauma work asks a lot of your nervous system, and finishing a session in your own space, with no drive home afterwards, is easier for many people than the alternative.
Terapia en español
Ofrezco terapia en español para hispanohablantes en el Reino Unido y en cualquier parte del mundo. La misma terapia TCC y EMDR basada en la evidencia, en tu idioma.
El trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo es la mayor parte de mi trabajo, y la terapia online para el TOC en español es el mismo tratamiento, con las mismas herramientas, en el idioma en el que piensas.
What it costs
Sessions cost the same online as in the room. The full picture, including payment, cancellations, insurance and concessions, is on the fees page.
The first step is a free fifteen-minute consultation. It is a conversation about whether I am the right person for what you are dealing with, not a sales call, and nothing follows from it unless you want it to.
Common questions
Is online therapy as effective as meeting in person? For the problems I treat, yes. Trials comparing online and in-person CBT find equivalent outcomes for anxiety, OCD, depression and PTSD.
Can EMDR really be done over video? Yes. The bilateral stimulation works through guided eye movements on screen or through self-tapping, and the eight-phase protocol is otherwise unchanged.
What do I need for a session? A device with a camera, an internet connection that holds up, and a private space where you will not be overheard. Headphones help.
Where can you work with clients? Across the UK and internationally, at a time that fits your time zone. The one exception is the United States, where regulation means I cannot take on clients.
Could we meet in person instead? Sometimes. A small number of in-person places are available at Prestwich and Hebden Bridge. Ask about current availability when you enquire.
Can sessions be in Spanish? Yes. I work in English and Spanish, and there is more on the therapy in Spanish page.
Start online therapy
Wherever you are in the UK, sessions fit around your week.
Send Gisela a message
A few lines about what's going on is enough — you don't need the right words for it. She reads every message herself and replies within one working day.