About us
You are functioning. On the outside, things look fine. People still rely on you, and you still deliver. But something has shifted, and you know it. The work has stopped feeling sustainable. Sundays have a low-grade dread to them. Sleep is not what it used to be. You have stopped enjoying things that used to be enjoyable. You are still showing up — but increasingly you are running on something that is wearing thin.
If that is roughly where you are, what you are describing is recognisable. Burnout does not arrive in a single moment. It accumulates — sometimes over years — and by the time most professionals decide to do something about it, they have usually been carrying it for longer than they realise.
What our work with workplace stress and burnout looks like
The clients we see with workplace presentations are often capable, committed people who are reluctant to be seen as struggling. The work begins by treating that reluctance with respect — not by trying to dismantle it. Asking for help when your professional life depends on appearing to cope is genuinely difficult, and any therapy that does not begin from that recognition is going to feel patronising.
From there, depending on what fits, the work may draw on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for the patterns of thought that keep stress and pressure in place; on mindfulness-based approaches that help you develop a different relationship with the demands of work; on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for the values question that sits underneath most burnout — what is this work actually for, and is the cost worth it; or on more reflective person-centred work where what is needed is a sustained space to think about what your professional life is asking of you. Where sleep has collapsed, CBT for Insomnia (CBTi) is a distinct evidence-based protocol we can introduce.
Our founder Ian Stockbridge spent 25 years in senior management and directorial roles before retraining — at times managing teams of more than 200 people. The specific texture of professional stress is something we understand from the inside, not just clinically.
For employers — Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) support
Alongside our private practice, we provide Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) services to employers across the UK. If your employer offers EAP support, you may already be able to access sessions through them — please ask your HR team or check your employee benefits.
For employers reading this: we offer a distinct corporate offering — Hope Wellbeing at Work — which includes structured EAP provision, manager wellbeing training, critical incident response, and bespoke workplace support. Please get in touch to discuss what your organisation needs.
Online sessions, designed to work around work
The majority of our work is conducted online, which makes sessions accessible regardless of where you work or how unpredictable your schedule is. We offer flexible hours including some evening and weekend availability — please ask about what is available. Face-to-face sessions are available in some locations — please ask.
Who you would be working with
Hope Therapy is a team of more than 90 qualified counsellors and therapists, including practitioners with specific experience in workplace stress, burnout, executive coaching, and the interface between professional life and mental health. Every therapist is a registered member of a UK professional body. We are an NCPS Organisational Member.
How starting works
A free 15-minute consultation is the most useful first step. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing. For professionals weighing up whether to make space for therapy in already-full lives, the consultation is designed to be the lightest possible first step — a short conversation, no preparation needed, no obligation either way.
A note on what we don't offer
We do not provide crisis support and do not work with people who are actively at risk of harming themselves. If that is where you are right now, please contact the Samaritans (116 123, free, 24 hours), your GP, or 999 in an emergency.
One honest thing
Counselling is not a fix for the conditions that produce burnout — the demanding role, the long hours, the workplace culture, the structural pressures that no amount of personal resilience will solve. What it can do is help you see what is happening for you with greater clarity, develop a clearer sense of what you actually want, and put down some of the weight that has accumulated. For many of the professionals we work with, that combination is what allows them to make different decisions — about how they work, what they prioritise, and where their limits genuinely are.
When you are ready, we are here.
Training, qualifications & experience
Our mental health and wellbeing support includes private clients looking for personal counselling (One to One, Couples & Families) through to Large County Councils, Charities and Companies where the organisation may be arranging or funding sessions, possibly through an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) arrangement.
We have access to counsellors covering a large number of areas throughout England, so you may well be able to see us face-to-face wherever you are. However, we all offer Skype, Zoom and telephone support, so wherever you are, we will be able to work with you. People work with us from literally all areas of the country and, in some cases, from abroad.
Member organisations *
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
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.
The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations. In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
Areas of counselling we deal with
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Rates are flexible depending on the services required. Please enquire for more information.
When we work
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early morning | |||||||
| Morning | |||||||
| Early afternoon | |||||||
| Late afternoon | |||||||
| Evening |
We are able to offer flexible hours - please ask to find out more.
