About Isla
Isla Donaldson is a counsellor who helps people facing stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, relationship problems and trauma. She works with issues such as abandonment, attachment difficulties, body image, communication problems, guilt and shame, and feelings of emptiness. Isla is based in the United Kingdom and uses somatic approaches alongside person-centred and existential ways of working.
Isla keeps sessions straightforward and practical. She creates a calm, collaborative space where a person’s immediate sensations and feelings are used to understand what is happening in the moment.
Background and approach
Isla stays present and attentive, offering both support and gentle challenge while people process difficult experiences. Her practice draws on Client-Centred Therapy and Existential Therapy together with Somatic Therapy and Trauma-Focused Therapy. In plain terms, this means paying attention to thoughts, choices, values and bodily experience as part of recovery and growth.
The pace of sessions is set by the person in therapy and their specific needs. Isla has five years of experience working with adults and young people on grief, relationship difficulties, suicidal ideation, self-harm, anxiety and depression. She holds NCPS as a credential and completed a first-class degree in Humanistic Counselling Practice (BA).
Therapy can include talking, tracking bodily sensations, learning self-regulation skills and taking time to reflect on meaning and values. Sessions are offered in English and run online by video call, phone, live chat or text messaging. To begin, people follow the platform’s Start Therapy process and complete a short matching questionnaire.
How Isla's approaches translate to online work
Somatic Therapy focuses on bodily sensations and movement as clues to emotional and nervous system states. In practice this can mean noticing breath, tension or grounding in the body to help process trauma, anxiety and overwhelming feelings. Client-Centred Therapy places the person’s experience and choices at the centre of sessions, offering empathic listening and space to make sense of feelings and values.Choosing a therapeutic approach is a collaborative process. Isla will work with each person to find what feels most helpful, adjusting methods to suit needs, goals and comfort. The first sessions often focus on building trust and deciding whether somatic exercises, conversational work or existential reflection will best help the person move forward.
Online therapy offers practical flexibility for people juggling work, family and health. Video calls allow visual connection and guided somatic work, while phone sessions suit those who prefer voice-only contact. Live chat or text messaging can be useful for short check-ins, reflection between sessions or when typing feels easier than speaking. These options make it simpler to fit therapy into everyday life and to keep continuity of care across distances.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Attachment issues
- Body image
- Communication problems
- Depression
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Post-traumatic stress
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexuality
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 5 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English