Individual and Relationship Therapist
I offer Gottman Method couples therapy and trauma-informed counselling for individuals and couples in Bristol and online across the UK.
I work with couples who are struggling with communication difficulties, recurring conflict, emotional disconnection, infidelity, intimacy concerns, parenting stress, and major life transitions. My approach is warm, collaborative, and grounded in the Gottman Method — an evidence-based approach to relationship therapy developed through decades of research into healthy relationships.
Alongside relationship counselling, I also support individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, grief, chronic pain, and low self-esteem. My work is trauma-informed, recognising how past experiences and emotional wounds can continue to affect relationships, behaviour, and emotional wellbeing in the present.
Each session is tailored to your individual needs, integrating practical therapeutic tools with compassionate exploration and support.
My approach
I follow a trauma-informed approach, which means we’ll look at both your past and present experiences to understand how the past may be influencing how you feel and behave today. When we talk about trauma, we’re not just talking about what happened to you, but the way you made sense of it, and the wounds you may still be carrying as a result.
These wounds can cast a shadow that influences how you feel, behave, and see the world around you. It can help to think of freedom as the small gap between something happening to us and how we choose to respond. Trauma can close that gap, so our reactions end up driven more by the past than by what’s actually happening now. Understanding what happened to you isn’t the same as having worked through it, and this is where counselling can help.
As an integrative counsellor, I draw on a range of therapeutic approaches, including psychodynamic, person-centred, and gestalt therapy, alongside Gottman Method training for couples work. Every individual’s experience is unique, so my approach is flexible, and each session is tailored to suit your specific needs.
Training, qualifications & experience
- MA (Distinction) Counselling and Psychotherapy (Level 7) – The University of the West of England
- MSc Educational Psychology – The University of Bristol
- Certificate in Counselling Skills (Level 4) – Bristol City College
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy (Level 3) – Gottman Institute
Registered Member MBACP (Accred).
Before beginning my MA, I worked for Mind Bristol as a helpline volunteer and for Changes Bristol as a group facilitator. Working in education for many years as a lecturer at the University of the West of England (UWE) gave me a deep empathy for the challenges of being a young adult today.
Get in touch
If you’d like to find out whether working together could help, I offer a free 15-minute telephone consultation to talk through your situation and answer any questions.
You’re welcome to call or text 07729 980125, or get in touch via email at info@michellegaletherapy.co.uk.