Deborah Steel, BACP
Calm, practical counselling for life’s difficult moments
Details
| Name | Deborah Steel |
|---|---|
| Credentials | BACP |
| Based in | United Kingdom |
| Registered with | BACP |
| Session format | Online |
| Languages | English |
| Years in practice | 12 |
About Deborah
Deborah Steel is a counsellor who helps people feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety or life change. She uses a straightforward, warm style and aims to make sessions feel calm and practical. Deborah has 12 years' experience and holds a BA (Hons) in Counselling and is a member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP).
She supports people dealing with depression, trauma and abuse, grief and intimacy-related worries. She also helps with relationship and family concerns, career questions, sleep problems and challenges linked to ADHD or chronic illness.
Background and approach
Her work covers a wide range of life stresses and transitions. Deborah favours ways of working that centre the person and their story. She uses Narrative approaches to help people see how their life stories shape current struggles.
She pairs this with client-centred listening so people feel heard and understood. Practical tools also have a place in her work. Cognitive behavioural ideas are used when helpful to spot thinking patterns and try small experiments.
Emotionally focused ideas guide sessions when relationship feelings are the focus. Sessions aim to be collaborative and paced to each person. Deborah invites questions and checks in about goals and preferences.
She supports people who want clearer boundaries, improved self-esteem, help with parenting stresses, or guidance through bereavement and loss.
What this therapist works with
Her listing names Stress, Anxiety, Trauma and abuse, Self esteem among the things Deborah works with, alongside the areas below.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Self esteem
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- LGBT
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Depression
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Traumatic brain injury
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches listed
- Narrative Therapy: Named in her listing among her approaches.
- Client-Centered Therapy: Listed by Deborah among the ways she works.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Listed by Deborah among the ways she works.
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT): Listed by Deborah among the ways she works.
- Existential Therapy: Listed by Deborah among the ways she works.
- Mindfulness Therapy: Listed by Deborah among the ways she works.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: Listed by Deborah among the ways she works.
- Solution-Focused Therapy: Listed by Deborah among the ways she works.
- Somatic Therapy: Listed by Deborah among the ways she works.
- Trauma-Focused Therapy: Listed by Deborah among the ways she works.
- Training stated: This directory copies the approaches a therapist names and does not check training records. Ask Deborah directly how much of the work is narrative and what a session usually looks like.
Narrative Therapy in this listing
Narrative Therapy appears in this therapist's own list of approaches. That tells you it is part of how she works. It does not tell you how much of a session it shapes, and this directory does not check or rate training.
If a narrative approach is what you are looking for, it is worth asking Deborah directly how she uses it and what a session usually looks like.
Online session options
Therapeutic approaches that suit online work
Deborah uses Narrative Therapy to help people look at the stories they tell about themselves and their relationships. This approach can help when patterns from the past shape present worries or when someone wants a fresh perspective on recurring problems.She also draws on Client-Centred Therapy, which prioritises listening and understanding. That approach helps people feel accepted and able to explore difficult feelings at their own pace. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is used when practical steps are useful to spot unhelpful thoughts and try new behaviours, which suits real-life problems like sleep, anxiety or mood shifts.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Deborah treats this as a collaborative process and will discuss which methods feel most useful based on each person's goals and preferences. Together they decide what to try and review progress along the way.
Online sessions offer flexibility and accessibility. Video calls let people use face-to-face conversation from wherever they are, while phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text messaging support shorter check-ins, notes between sessions or options for people who prefer typing. These formats make it simpler to fit therapy around work, caring duties or travel and still keep the focus on practical change and emotional support.
Common questions about this listing
What kinds of problems can be addressed?
Deborah works with people facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues and many life changes. She also helps with relationship and family concerns, sleep problems, career matters and challenges linked to ADHD or chronic illness.
How would you describe the therapy style?
The approach is warm and collaborative, combining Narrative thinking with client-centred listening and practical CBT techniques when helpful. Sessions focus on understanding a person's story and trying small, useful changes.
What background does the counsellor have?
Deborah has 12 years' professional experience and holds a BA (Hons) in Counselling. She draws on years of practice to support people through a wide range of concerns.
Where is Deborah based and what credential does she hold?
She works from the United Kingdom and is a member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP).
Which languages and international options are available?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.
What session formats are offered?
Therapy is available by video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging to suit different needs and schedules.
How are fees and payments handled?
Costs vary with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I begin if I want to work with Deborah?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions according to the therapist's availability.
Contacting this therapist
Sessions with Deborah are arranged through our partner platform. It asks a few questions about what you are looking for, then shows you the therapists available to you, including Deborah where she has space. Ask about fees, and whether she holds a licence or registration where you live.
Or see other therapists in United Kingdom »
This is a partner link. We will earn a commission if you sign up through it, at no cost to you. It does not change what you pay or the order of the listings.
Other listings in this directory
- Patricia Pardy, LMHC, LCPC - New York
- Wendy Galyen, LCSW - Indiana
- Danielle Doskocil, LPC, LCMHC - South Carolina
- Moushumi Ghose, LMFT - California
- All therapists for stress, anxiety »