Madeleine Heffernan, BACP

Madeleine Heffernan is a BACP-registered therapist based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, who brings eight years of clinical experience to her practice. She works collaboratively with people facing stress, anxiety, relationship and family difficulties, trauma and abuse, depression, addiction concerns, and a wide range of other life challenges including grief, parenting struggles, career transitions and issues around intimacy and identity.

Her work is tailored to each person, drawing on psychodynamic formulations that situate current difficulties in the context of past experience alongside cognitive behavioural techniques that address unhelpful thoughts and behaviours. Madeleine also uses compassion-focused ideas to help build a kinder inner dialogue and sometimes integrates gentle tapping techniques known as Emotional Freedom Technique where appropriate. She describes therapy as a strengths-based, empowering process and treats each person as the expert of their own story.

Sessions can include attentive listening, exploration and development of understanding about inner experiences and life patterns, practical tasks or observations to work on between appointments if desired, and techniques to support emotional regulation and relationship skills. Madeleine answers messages daily between 08:30 and 20:30 (up to an hour of messaging per week) and offers live sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 08:00 and 18:00 by video, phone or instant messaging.

How Madeleine’s Approaches Translate to Online Sessions

Madeleine draws on psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy to guide online work. Psychodynamic therapy looks at patterns that have developed over a lifetime and helps make sense of how past relationships and experiences influence current feelings and behaviour; this approach can be useful for long-standing relational patterns, attachment concerns, and issues rooted in earlier experiences. Cognitive behavioural therapy focuses on identifying and shifting unhelpful thoughts and behaviours, offering practical strategies for managing anxiety, mood difficulties, and stress in day-to-day life. Madeleine also uses elements of emotionally-focused approaches to help people access and rework difficult emotions in relationships and personal connections.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process and Madeleine works collaboratively to find what fits best. She discusses goals, preferences and practical needs with each person and adapts methods over time so therapy remains relevant and effective for individual circumstances.

Online therapy with Madeleine is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging, providing flexibility to fit therapy around work, family and other commitments. These options make access easier for people who prefer remote sessions, helping maintain continuity of care while accommodating different communication styles and life situations.