Lee Whelan

Lee Whelan BACP brings a steady, practical approach shaped by many years working in substance misuse counselling and related roles. He speaks plainly about challenges and listens for what matters most. Sessions focus on clear steps people can try between meetings and on building strengths that help everyday life.

Before moving into counselling, Lee worked across health education and the justice system and in direct support roles with adults and young people. That range of roles shaped a broad view of how problems like addiction, grief, anxiety and relationship strain often overlap. He draws on this background when helping people untangle complex situations.

Lee uses methods that centre the person and their story. He pays attention to attachment patterns and to the ways thoughts and behaviours keep problems going. He also uses motivational techniques to help people find reasons to change when they feel stuck.

In sessions he aims to keep language simple and practical. He helps people map what’s happening, spot small shifts that make a difference, and try out new ways of coping. Work might include looking at belief patterns, discussing personal values, or practising different ways of communicating.

People come to him with issues such as addiction, anger, trauma and family problems, as well as difficulties around eating, intimacy, ADHD and stress. He also supports those facing bereavement, separation and major life changes. Lee draws on five years of formal counselling experience alongside his longer front-line background.

How Lee’s approaches work online

Lee draws on attachment-based work to look at relationship patterns and how early bonds shape current reactions; this can help with anger, intimacy and communication struggles. He also uses client-centred therapy, which focuses on listening, reflecting back what matters to the person, and building trust so they can find their own solutions.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the process. Lee will work collaboratively to identify which methods feel most useful for a person’s goals and preferences, and adjust the style as the work progresses so it stays relevant and practical.

Please confirm the specific online session formats offered before booking, as the biography does not list them. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when a quick update is helpful. It can also make it simpler to use visual tools or shared worksheets during a session, depending on the format chosen.