Bridget Hannaford

Bridget Hannaford is a counsellor who helps people facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, grief and parenting challenges. She uses straightforward conversation and practical strategies to support people through separation, loss and life transitions.

Bridget has five years of clinical experience and holds PACFA accreditation. She has worked with people who have experienced trauma, abuse, domestic violence and betrayal, and she makes room for the difficult emotions that come with those experiences.

Her approach includes paying attention to the body’s reactions to stress. Bridget uses somatic awareness alongside cognitive and acceptance-based tools to help people manage overwhelming feelings. Sessions often involve noticing physical responses, learning grounding skills and testing small changes in thinking or behaviour.

She draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, while also using attachment ideas and client-centred listening. Bridget aims to help people clarify what matters to them and take manageable steps toward those values.

Bridget has experience with grief and loss and gives people space to process painful feelings while considering practical next steps. She also has knowledge of migration, cross-cultural issues, blended family difficulties and the particular stresses of divorce and separation.

People who choose to work with Bridget can expect calm, down-to-earth support and collaborative planning that focuses on real-life changes rather than labels.

How Bridget’s approaches translate to online work

Bridget uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Attachment-Based ideas alongside Client-Centred listening to guide online sessions. ACT helps people notice difficult thoughts without getting stuck and identify the values that matter most. Attachment-based ideas focus on how early connection patterns shape current relationships and help people work on communication and safety in close relationships. Client-Centred therapy prioritises the person’s pace and perspective, offering a supportive space to talk through what feels most urgent.

Finding the right fit is a team effort. Bridget will talk with a client about goals, preferences and what has helped or not helped in the past. Together they try different ways of working and adjust the approach so it matches the person’s needs and life circumstances.

The biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It can also make it simpler to practise grounding or mindfulness exercises in real-time while still having therapeutic support nearby. Appropriately qualified therapists can adapt tools like behavioural experiments, values work and emotion regulation skills to an online setting, helping clients try practical changes between sessions.