Zaida Fontes, NCPS

Zaida Fontes offers calm, straightforward support for people facing big life stresses. She focuses on issues such as addictions, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, depression, grief and parenting strain. She speaks English and Portuguese and works with clients from the United Kingdom and internationally.

Zaida believes each person knows their own story and brings practical strengths to therapy. She aims to help people notice those strengths and use them to change how they cope with hard situations. The first step can feel daunting, and she tries to make it easier to begin.

Her background includes nine years of experience and registration with NCPS. That combination informs a steady, person-focused style rather than a one-size-fits-all method. Sessions centre on listening and helping people find workable steps forward.

In practice she draws on attachment-based ideas to look at how relationships shape feelings and behaviour. She also uses client-centred work, which prioritises the person's pace and priorities. Other influences include Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Emotionally-Focused Therapy to help with emotional regulation and relationship patterns.

People come to Zaida for help with family-related stress, grief after loss, parenting challenges, and recovery from abusive experiences. She also supports those coping with cancer-related pressures and caregiver strain. Her approach aims to be direct, steady and rooted in what the person needs now.

How therapeutic approaches adapt to online work

Attachment-based work looks at how early and current relationships shape emotional responses. Online sessions can be used to notice patterns in how people relate and try new ways of responding in everyday life. Client-centred therapy focuses on the person's priorities, giving space for them to set the pace and topics in each session. This approach helps people feel heard and choose practical steps that suit their situation. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy emphasises skills for regulating intense emotions and managing distress; online sessions can teach and practise simple skills to use between meetings.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapy process. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences and what feels most helpful, and then agree a plan together. That makes it easier to adjust methods if something is not working.

Please confirm which session formats are offered before booking, as they are not listed here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit counselling into a busy life, for example by removing travel time, allowing shorter check-ins around work breaks, or letting people join from a quieter location. It also supports regular practice of skills between sessions and can help maintain continuity of care when travel or relocation would otherwise interrupt it.