Sharon McHugh

Sharon McHugh is a counsellor who specialises in helping people recover from anxiety and trauma that stem from difficult upbringings in childhood, the teenage years, or early adulthood.

With 7 years of experience, she aims to support clients to heal and to grow into the person they want to be. Sessions are always led by the client - the room is their space to bring whatever they wish to explore.

Sharon offers a non-judgemental, open and empathetic environment where clients can talk freely without pressure. At the first session she and the client discuss goals and agree a plan for how counselling can help achieve them.

During sessions Sharon may ask questions about what is shared so that she can explore the issues more deeply and understand a client’s life from their perspective. Working in this way helps both client and therapist make sense of what is happening.

She has practised in both private practice and external agencies, supporting people who experience anxiety and trauma after growing up in environments where it was not safe to be themselves and where survival coping strategies developed. Over time these experiences can lead to low self-esteem, people-pleasing and a loss of a sense of who someone is - moments when change feels necessary but it is unclear where to begin. That is where the therapeutic journey together begins.

Sharon is qualified as an Integrative Counsellor to Level 4, a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist at Level 5, and holds a diploma in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy. In line with the guidelines and ethics of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists she regularly attends training courses to refresh core skills and to learn new approaches, widening the range of tools she can bring into sessions.

She is based in the United Kingdom and looks forward to working with you.