Carina Badger


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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Gain perspective about your process and develop boundaries so you can make informed, mindful choices about the life you want to live. I help people move away from old, unhelpful patterns towards a flourishing life - in whatever way that is meaningful for you.
Perhaps some of this sounds familiar...
- You feel stuck in the same patterns of behaviour and can’t work out how to change this
- You don't ask for your needs to be met and maybe don't tend to share your feelings
- You struggle to make sense of your dynamics with others
- You’ve been feeling anxious or stressed
- Maybe you feel overwhelmed by life’s challenges
- You feel disconnected from yourself and others sometimes
- You are having issues at work such as a redundancy or are going through an HR process
- You're facing (or have just had) a big change and you're struggling to get your bearings
- You’re not thriving
I firmly believe that you write your own narrative in life. But it can feel hard to face things alone or make sense of the challenges life can present. It’s probably not more willpower you need – perhaps it’s more insight and empathy in a safe space to figure out who you are and how you want to live your life.
What sort of issues do I help clients with?
I work with couples and individuals and I run a therapy group in South Manchester. Please get in touch for details.
Some of the sorts of areas I work with include:
- Repeated patterns of thinking or behaving where you feel stuck
- Anxiety including social anxiety, and stress
- Overwhelm
- Work issues
- Loneliness and feeling low
- Always the helper, rarely the helped
- Low self-esteem and low self-confidence
- Relationship challenges such as difficulties with partners, friends or families, affairs and betrayals, separation and divorce
- Attachment difficulties
- Bereavement, grief and loss
- Life transitions such as children leaving home, menopause, coming out, a relationship breakdown, a bereavement, changing career or city, redundancy, retirement or something else. These transition periods can bring up a range of emotions that can feel overwhelming and bewildering
I also work with couples seeking to break out of cycles of behaviour that are holding them back from flourishing.
My aim is to be curious, human, professional and compassionate. You can expect a safe, non-judgemental and confidential space.
🏳️🌈 I am an LGBTQ+ affirmative, sex and fat positive counsellor. I have specific training in gender, sexuality and relationship (GSRD) therapy.
What I offer
You can find more information on my website, including my current availability: www.carinabadgerwellbeing.com
Individual therapy: I see most clients weekly at the same day and time each week. I have some availability on Mondays (Chorlton), Tuesdays and Thursdays (Didsbury).
Couples / relationship therapy: I see most clients fortnightly at the same day and time each fortnight. I have some availability on Mondays (Chorlton) and Tuesdays (Didsbury).
Group: I have a therapy group starting soon. This is £22 per session, in-person (South Manchester) for 10 weeks. Get in touch for more details including the next start date.
As at February 2025, I have no low-cost slots available. My website includes some suggestions for local low- and no-cost counselling options.
Fully qualified BACP therapist and counsellor also in Advanced Training in Psychotherapy towards UKCP accreditation. I see clients in Manchester (Didsbury, Chorlton or Urmston). I draw on a number of different theories in my work and can introduce you to a range of techniques and practices.
Free initial chat
I appreciate taking the first step and making contact with a counsellor can be daunting. It’s natural to feel uncomfortable or hesitant. You may have additional questions and I am happy to have a chat with you. Send me a message to arrange an initial chat. This is an opportunity for you to get a sense for how I work and I can answer any questions you may have. There is no charge for this and I hold the chat by phone or Zoom.
If what you’re currently doing isn’t working for you, let’s find another way that does.
Training, qualifications & experience
Qualifications and Training (highlights)
- Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (accredited by BACP)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Counselling and Psychotherapy (Distinction)
- Certificate in Delivering Group Therapy
- Couples Institute in a Developmental Model of Couples Therapy: Integrating Attachment, Differentiation, and Neuroscience in Couples Therapy
- Certificate in Diversity within Contemporary Relationship Therapy: Working Alongside Trans, Non-Binary and Questioning Clients; Other Loves: Polyamory, Polygamy and Arranged Marriages; Kink; Bisexuality and Sexual Fluidity; Neurodivergence, Sex and Relationships
- Certificate in Interpersonal Neurobiology: Polyvagal Theory and Beyond
- Diploma in Mindfulness Teacher Training
- Certificate in online counselling and therapy
- Certificate in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
- Postgraduate training in counselling and psychotherapy with children and young people
- Gender, sexuality and relationship diversity training
- Weight Stigma and Fatphobia in the Therapy Room
- Counselling and psychotherapy for grief and loss
- Transactional Analysis 101
- ILM Level 5 Certificate in Effective Coaching and Mentoring
- BA (Hons) and MA (Cantab) in Philosophy (University of Cambridge)
- MEd in Education (UCL)
I undergo regular training to support my practice. Workshops I have taken include managing anxiety including social anxiety, mindfulness and integrating the breath, trauma-informed practice, equity, diversity and inclusion, existential psychotherapy, walk and talk therapy, menopause, working with suicidal ideation, imposter syndrome.
Experience
- Over 15 years' experience working as a Solicitor before my change of career
- LGBT+ helpline volunteer
- Volunteer and freelance youth worker
- College counsellor
- Volunteering in adult counselling and psychotherapy services
- Workshop facilitator in secondary schools
Additional information
- Registered member of BACP
- Insured
- Enhanced DBS
Member organisations

BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership

The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.

Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
£45.00 - £55.00
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
For details about group therapy, including fees, please get in touch.
In addition to counselling, I am able to work with organisations on a consultation basis to deliver psychological wellbeing programmes. I am also a therapeutic executive coach. Please contact me for further details.
When I work
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On Mondays my therapy room is in Chorlton
On Tuesdays and Thursday morning my therapy room is in Didsbury.
On Wednesdays my therapy room is in Urmston.