Michelle Robinson-Hayes, BACP

Michelle Robinson-Hayes is a seasoned psychotherapeutic counsellor, hypnotherapist, career coach and mental health trainer based in the United Kingdom. She is registered with the BACP - the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - which denotes membership of a recognised professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists. With a background in senior management across corporate industries spanning three decades, Michelle brings strong organisational skills, experience in leading teams, and a practical understanding of business processes to her therapeutic and coaching work.

She founded The Listening Tree to provide accessible counselling and hypnotherapy services to local communities and has run the practice for over eight years. During that time she has taught hypnotherapy and counselling up to level 5, provided mentoring to younger and mature students, and acted as a counselling supervisor. Michelle has particular experience supporting people through bereavement, having completed over 150 placement hours with a bereavement charity, and she has additional training in advanced hypnotherapy and hypnotherapy supervision.

Across her career Michelle has delivered more than 1,000 hours of counselling and around 500 hours of hypnotherapy, worked with a range of organisations and charities, and provided telephone and video-based employee assistance services. She combines empathic listening with practical coaching and therapeutic techniques to support clients facing stress, anxiety, relationship and family issues, grief, addictions, trauma, and life transitions.

Therapeutic approaches and flexible online care

Michelle commonly draws on client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and hypnotherapy in her online work. Client-centered therapy focuses on creating a supportive, non-judgemental space where the therapist listens carefully and helps clients explore their own goals and values - it is useful for building self-esteem, improving relationships, and navigating life changes. CBT is a structured, problem-focused approach that helps people identify unhelpful thinking patterns and develop practical strategies to manage anxiety, depression, stress, and coping difficulties. Hypnotherapy uses guided relaxation and focused attention to access resources such as motivation, confidence, or habit change and can be helpful for issues like sleep, stress management, and certain behavioural patterns.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Michelle works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods fit best with their needs, goals and preferences. She adapts techniques over time so that treatment remains relevant and responsive.

Online therapy offers practical benefits for clients with busy schedules or geographical constraints. Sessions by video call or phone recreate face-to-face conversation, while live chat and text-based messaging provide added flexibility for those who prefer written communication. Together these options make consistent, ongoing work with a registered professional more accessible and easier to fit into everyday life.