Erica Ruse Whalley, BACP

Erica Ruse Whalley offers a calm, supportive approach designed to help people navigate challenging moments with practical care and emotional attention. She creates a space where the person seeking help sits at the centre of the work and is invited to choose the ways of working that feel most comfortable. Erica is a fully qualified, accredited counsellor with fourteen years of clinical experience, and she holds BACP accreditation - the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, a UK professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists.

Her practice includes focused experience supporting people with anxiety, depression, grief and loss, relationship difficulties, family challenges and issues arising from adoption. Erica works integratively, tailoring a blend of theories and techniques to each individual. Her methods may draw on person-centred principles that emphasise empathy and the client’s own resources, solution-focused strategies for practical change, cognitive behavioural techniques to address unhelpful patterns of thinking, the Emotional Freedom Technique where appropriate, and creative tools when these suit the client’s needs.

Erica welcomes enquiries to discuss how she can help and is happy to talk through the options for working together and the best way to begin the therapeutic process.

Approaches That Guide Online Therapeutic Support

Erica commonly draws on client-centred therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and attachment-based approaches to guide online work. Client-centred therapy focuses on empathy, respect and supporting the client’s own pace and choices, helping with issues such as low self-esteem, life transitions and relationship concerns. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, emotions and behaviours and is useful for anxiety, depression and practical coping strategies. Attachment-based work explores patterns formed in early relationships and how these shape current connections, offering helpful insight for relationship difficulties, grief and attachment-related concerns.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic journey and Erica works collaboratively with each client to identify which methods fit their needs, goals and preferences. She adapts her style as the work develops so the therapy remains relevant and responsive to the client’s situation.

Online therapy with Erica can take place by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging, offering flexibility for busy lives and different comfort levels. These options make it easier to arrange sessions from home or work, maintain continuity during life changes, and choose the format that feels most helpful for the client and the progress they want to make.