About William
Dr. William Cook begins from a practical, body-aware perspective and more than 18 years of experience. He combines attention to physical sensations with conversation to help people make sense of stress, anxiety, trauma and relationship strain.
William speaks English, Spanish and French and offers sessions to people in the United Kingdom and beyond. He keeps sessions straightforward and down to earth. People can expect work that links what happens in the body to thoughts and feelings.
Background and approach
That can be helpful for problems like panic, sleep disruption, chronic pain and addiction where the body holds a lot of the tension. William uses a mix of approaches to suit each person. He draws on somatic ideas, attachment-based thinking and client-centred listening to help people feel heard and understood.
He also uses techniques from cognitive behavioural and dialectical behaviour approaches when helpful for managing mood, behaviour and coping skills. His background includes long experience supporting people with depression, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, LGBT concerns, ADHD and complex trauma. He has experience with care-related stress, chronic illness and caregiving challenges as well as body image and eating concerns.
William is registered with BACP and NCPS, and he has worked for many years with community services. Sessions are offered online by video, phone, chat or message so people can choose what fits their life. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then book a time that suits them.
How somatic and relational approaches work online
Somatic work focuses on the body's signals as part of therapy. It helps people notice tension, breath patterns and other sensations that link to anxiety, trauma or chronic pain and then use gentle techniques to ease those reactions. Attachment-based therapy looks at patterns in close relationships and how early experiences shape trust, emotion and connection; it can be useful for intimacy, grief and relationship difficulties.Client-centred therapy puts the person at the heart of the process, with the therapist offering warm, non-judgemental listening and reflection. Together the person and therapist decide which mix of somatic, attachment or skills-based methods best fits the needs, goals and comfort level of the individual. Finding the right approach is a collaborative process and can change as therapy progresses.
Online therapy makes these approaches accessible from home or elsewhere. Video calls allow visual connection for body-oriented and relational work, while phone, live chat or text messaging can suit people who prefer less visual contact or need flexible timing. These options help people keep therapy going around work, caregiving or travel and make it easier to try different ways of working without a long commute.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trichotillomania
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 18 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English, Spanish, French