Mustabshira Durrani

Mustabshira Durrani is a BACP counsellor based in the United Kingdom with 13 years of professional experience. She helps people manage stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, low self-esteem and depression. She aims to give people a different perspective so they can move forward with greater choice and clarity.

Her work is grounded in offering a supportive, non-judgemental space. She encourages clients to talk about uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. Conversations are practical and compassionate, focused on finding ways through fear, anxiety and hopelessness toward a more contented life.

Durrani draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques to help people resolve old hurts and conflicts. Sessions look at what is getting in the way of change and explore small steps that build confidence and motivation. The emphasis is on real-world change rather than jargon or theory.

She also helps with issues such as abandonment, attachment difficulties, body image, caregiver stress, chronic illness and pain, communication problems, control issues, guilt and shame, and isolation or loneliness. Divorce and separation is listed among her additional focus areas for people wanting support through that life change.

Clients can expect a compassionate guide who has personal and professional experience of recovery. The work is collaborative: the counsellor listens, reflects, and helps people discover options they may not have seen before. Starting therapy is acknowledged as a brave first step, and the approach aims to build on that courage.

Therapeutic approaches and online support

Many of the techniques used are drawn from evidence-based therapeutic approaches that focus on understanding patterns and building new ways of coping. One common approach looks at how thoughts, feelings and behaviour interact and supports people to try different, more helpful ways of responding to anxiety and low mood. Another approach focuses on processing past hurts and trauma so that painful memories cause less distress and interfere less with everyday life.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to identify which techniques feel most helpful. Goals, preferences and what each person hopes to change guide that decision rather than a fixed method.

If you are considering online therapy, confirm the current session options before booking as formats are not listed in the biography. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions around family and work commitments, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when that is helpful. The practical aim is to make therapy fit into everyday life so people can sustain the work between sessions.