Joanna Ridgeway, ACA
Compassionate somatic-informed counsellor for stress and relationships
About Joanna
Joanna Ridgeway is an ACA counsellor who helps people feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, relationship strain, trauma, low self-esteem or depression. She aims to make the first step easier with calm, straightforward support and practical strategies. Her approach is warm and down-to-earth.
She focuses on helping people feel heard and safer in their bodies as they work through difficult feelings. Joanna blends somatic work with more talking-based methods to meet each person where they are.
Background and approach
Somatic Therapy helps people notice how stress and trauma show up physically, while Client-Centred and Attachment-Based ideas shape a trusting space for honest conversation. Cognitive Behavioural techniques are used when helpful to identify thinking patterns and try small, doable changes. Sessions are collaborative and paced to the person’s comfort.
Joanna listens for what matters most and tailors tools accordingly, such as grounding practices, emotion-focused conversations, or simple behavioural experiments. She avoids jargon and keeps suggestions practical so they fit daily life. Her practice suits people who want steady, compassionate support and concrete ways to manage symptoms.
Joanna draws on 14 years of experience to guide people through specific issues like abandonment worries, caregiving strain, chronic illness, body image, divorce and communication problems. People can expect a respectful, non-judgemental environment where feelings and stories are taken seriously. Joanna offers a steady presence while helping people build skills to feel more connected to themselves and others over time.
How Joanna’s approaches translate to online therapy
Somatic Therapy focuses on how emotions appear in the body and uses simple practices to notice and regulate physical responses to stress or trauma. It can help when anxiety shows up as tension, panic or numbness. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns in close relationships and how early experiences shape current bonds; it helps people understand and change repeating relationship dynamics.Client-Centred Therapy emphasises a supportive, non-judgemental space where the person leads the pace and topics. Sessions using these approaches can be gentle and paced to the person’s comfort, with the therapist offering reflections, grounding prompts and practical exercises. Finding the right blend of methods is part of the process, and the therapist will work collaboratively to choose approaches that match the client’s goals, needs and preferences.
Online therapy allows the same conversational and body-awareness work through video, phone, live chat or text-based messaging. Video calls are useful for guided grounding and noticing body cues, while phone sessions suit focused conversation. Live chat and messaging offer flexibility for short check-ins and written reflections. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, caregiving and other commitments and to continue support from home.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 14 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English