Victoria Porteous, NCPS

Victoria Porteous brings personal experience and professional practice together to support people through grief, addiction, relationship strain and major life changes. Having first entered therapy aged 22 after the death of her mother, she knows at close range how loss, anger and self-defeating behaviours can shape a life. That lived experience informs her work and helps her connect with people who are seeking practical change alongside emotional understanding.

She draws on 11 years of professional experience and holds the NCPS credential, a recognised professional counselling registration. Victoria has worked in both the charitable and public sectors - including an 18-month partnership running counselling services for a government-backed trauma charity during the Covid period - and she accepts referrals from charities and from doctor or government agency pathways.

In private practice she provides counselling and coaching onsite for individuals and organisations, and she also works with people referred through charitable routes. Her background as a former private investigator contributes to strong listening skills, an eye for non-verbal signals and careful questioning to build a clear picture of a client’s situation.

Victoria works with a broad range of concerns including stress, anxiety, trauma, addictions, low self-esteem, family and relationship difficulties, blended family and step-parenting issues, estrangement, intimacy and sexual culture matters, career challenges and compassion fatigue. She is also qualified as a Menopause Healthcare Professional.

Sessions aim to be personable and conversational rather than purely clinical; she combines warmth and humour with respectful challenge to open up new perspectives. Victoria’s work has attracted testimonials from business leaders, legal professionals and elite athletes, and client feedback has averaged 4.9 to 5 out of 5. She offers tailored support for those ready to begin the often demanding journey of self-discovery and change.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support

Victoria draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people notice difficult thoughts and feelings while focusing on committed action toward personal values. ACT is useful for anxiety, stress, addictive patterns and situations where someone wants different outcomes despite uncomfortable emotions.

She also uses Attachment-Based Therapy to explore how early relationships shape current patterns in intimacy, trust and communication. This approach can be helpful for people dealing with relationship strain, estrangement, attachment concerns and family conflict.

Victoria works collaboratively with each person to identify which approach, or combination of approaches, fits best. Finding the right therapeutic method is part of the process, and she will work alongside clients to match techniques to their needs, goals and personal preferences.

Online therapy options such as video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to access support from different locations. These formats offer flexibility in scheduling, allow for ongoing contact between appointments, and make it practical to maintain continuity of care when in-person sessions are not possible.