Jill Atkinson, BACP

Jill Atkinson combines academic training in psychology with international life experience to inform a thoughtful, holistic approach to counselling. After completing a psychology degree, she spent time teaching English in South Korea, an experience that sparked lasting curiosity about how culture and social context shape values and meaning. On returning to Scotland she worked in NHS and mental health settings where she developed a practical, values-led approach to wellbeing and completed a SCOTACS Diploma in Counselling and Group Work - a Cognitive Behavioural Approach, qualifying her as a counsellor.

Jill supplements her core training with continued professional development in Compassion-Focused Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Mood and Food, Somatic Therapy and Outdoor Therapy, weaving these perspectives into individual and group work. She also facilitates group programmes on self-compassion, low self-esteem and anxiety management, bringing structured group techniques alongside one-to-one counselling.

Her practice emphasises connection - to the body, to others and to the natural world - and the ways sensory awareness can inform emotional change. Jill believes the core value of counselling is helping people become more aware of habitual beliefs and emotional patterns so they can make different choices, build trust in themselves and live with greater purpose. As a BACP-registered counsellor, she frames therapy as an empowering investment that can support meaningful, lasting change.