Virginia Bowley

Virginia Bowley is an experienced counsellor with a background in nursing and rehabilitation case management. She has worked with people in a range of settings since 2001, including Cruse bereavement care, a college for further education, and private practice. She is an Accredited Counsellor with the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP).

Across a 24-year career she supported clients coming to terms with significant and multiple losses after catastrophic injury. That work involved practical planning alongside emotional support. She also spent six years with a bereavement charity, helping people process grief and life changes.

In sessions she draws on client-centred ways of working, focusing on the person’s experience and what matters to them. She also uses cognitive behavioural ideas to help people notice unhelpful patterns and try different responses. This combination is used to address concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, relationship problems and anger.

She has experience with a wide range of issues including addiction, bipolar, caregiving stress, attachment questions, chronic illness and end-of-life concerns. She also lists support for adoption and foster care, intellectual disability and isolation among her focus areas. Monthly supervision is part of her professional routine and she works according to the BACP code of ethics.

Outside work she enjoys swimming, walking, cycling and reading. People who value steady, practical support and clear conversation about changes and losses may find her approach helpful.

How her approaches work for online therapy

Client-Centred Therapy places the person’s concerns and values at the centre of sessions. The counsellor listens closely, follows the client’s pace and helps people find their own solutions, which can suit grief, relationship struggles and life changes.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and actions. It helps people notice unhelpful patterns and try practical experiments to change them, which can be useful for anxiety, stress and anger.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The counsellor will discuss goals, preferences and what feels most helpful, and then adapt the style as the relationship develops. That collaborative process helps make sure sessions fit real needs.

The biography indicates she has training in online counselling, so confirm which session formats are currently offered before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Many people find online sessions useful for sustaining regular contact while balancing work, family and other commitments.