Michael Purvis, BACP

Michael Purvis is a BACP counsellor who focuses on anxiety, stress and low mood. He draws on three years of practice to help people understand how difficult events have shaped their thoughts, feelings and habits. Michael aims to make sessions clear and practical so clients can notice steady changes over time.

He works with a wide range of anxiety-related problems such as panic attacks, phobias, obsessive compulsive tendencies and burnout. He also supports people who find social situations hard or struggle to form close relationships. Loss of purpose after retirement, redundancy or long-term illness is another area he addresses.

Alongside mood and anxiety work, Michael helps with setting and reaching goals across life areas. These include career direction, business aims, health and wellbeing, and better work-life balance. He frames goal work as steps you can try between sessions rather than one-off fixes.

Michael uses several therapeutic styles depending on the person in front of him. He blends acceptance and commitment ideas with cognitive approaches and client-centred listening. Attachment-focused thinking and existential questions about meaning also appear where relevant.

People can expect a straightforward conversational style. Michael will listen, reflect what he hears and then suggest practical ways to try things differently. Over time this can reduce distress and create clearer choices about next steps.

How therapy approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and still take steps that matter to them. It can be useful when someone wants to reduce avoidance and live by clearer values. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at links between thoughts, feelings and actions and offers concrete strategies to change unhelpful patterns like panic cycles or avoidance. Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early relationships affect current trust and closeness, and can help when building stronger connections feels hard.

Deciding which approach to use is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk with the person about their goals, test methods that feel relevant, and adapt the plan as progress is made. People often try a mix of techniques rather than a single approach.

The biography did not list specific session formats, so confirm the current online options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, remove travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It also lets people try exercises at home and review materials between meetings. Registered or accredited professionals can use these ways of working to help clients apply therapy in everyday life.