Zara O'Brien

Name: Zara O'Brien
Price range: £65.00 per session

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MBCAP, GMBPsS

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Eastbourne BN20 & BN21

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About me

Is your child struggling with anxiety, low confidence, big feelings, friendships, school or a change in their life? Perhaps they seem more withdrawn, overwhelmed or angry than usual, or you simply have a feeling that something isn't quite right.

I'm Zara, a BACP registered psychotherapeutic counsellor specialising in children and young people aged 6–17. I offer warm, creative and psychologically informed counselling in Eastbourne and online across the UK.

I believe children don't always have the words to explain what is happening for them. Therapy doesn't have to mean sitting still and talking about feelings for 50 minutes. We can talk, draw, write, create, build, play, use role play or simply take time to understand what is going on. I adapt the way I work around the child, rather than expecting the child to fit a particular way of doing therapy.

What can I help with?
Families come to me for support with a wide range of emotional and psychological difficulties, including:

Anxiety and excessive worry
Separation anxiety
Stress and feeling overwhelmed
Low self-esteem and low self-confidence
Big feelings, anger and emotional difficulties
Feeling sad or withdrawn
Friendship and relationship difficulties
Bullying
School-related worries
Behaviour that feels difficult to understand or manage
Bereavement and childhood bereavement
Family changes and life transitions
Health conditions and medical experiences
Disability, learning difficulties and difference
Supporting children who have caring responsibilities
Difficulties adjusting to change

You don't need to know exactly what is wrong before getting in touch. Sometimes parents simply know that their child's behaviour, emotions or confidence have changed and want help understanding why.

A space that works for children
Children communicate in many different ways. For some, talking comes naturally. For others, creativity, play, making, movement or simply having someone alongside them provides a better way into difficult experiences.

My approach is warm, relational and flexible. I want children to experience therapy as a space where they can be themselves — not another place where they are expected to perform, behave or get things right.

We can make space for serious conversations, difficult feelings and uncertainty, but also for humour, creativity and the ordinary moments that help a therapeutic relationship develop.

The aim is to help children and young people make sense of their experiences, develop greater understanding of themselves and find ways of coping that feel manageable.

Health, disability and difference
A particular area of my work is supporting children and young people living with health conditions, disability, additional needs and difference.

A diagnosis or medical experience can affect much more than physical health. It can influence confidence, identity, friendships, independence, family relationships and how a child experiences the world around them.

I provide a space to explore these experiences without reducing a child to a diagnosis or label.

Bereavement and loss
Grief can look very different in children. Some children become tearful or withdrawn, while others may appear angry, distracted or completely unaffected.

I support children and young people experiencing bereavement and loss, helping them understand their feelings, make sense of what has happened and find ways to maintain meaningful connections while adapting to life after loss.

Working with parents and carers
Supporting a child is rarely just about the child.

Where appropriate, I work collaboratively with parents and carers so that the adults around the child have a better understanding of what may be happening and how they can support progress outside therapy.

I also offer focused parent support for adults who want professional guidance around their child's emotional wellbeing, behaviour or current circumstances.

My approach
My clinical training includes a CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, BSc (Hons) Counselling Psychology, and doctoral-level training in Counselling Psychology.

I am a BACP registered psychotherapeutic counsellor and work within professional and ethical guidelines.

My work is grounded in psychological understanding, but I believe the therapeutic relationship comes first. Children are more able to explore difficult experiences when they feel understood, respected and safe.

I don't see a child simply as a collection of symptoms or problems. I want to understand the whole child — their relationships, experiences, strengths, environment and the things that matter to them.

Not sure whether counselling is right for you?
You don't have to be ready for counselling to find support.

I founded The Children's Psychology Hub, a psychology-informed resource and community platform created to make useful psychological knowledge more accessible to children, young people, parents, carers and the professionals who support them.

If you're unsure whether therapy is the right next step, the Hub offers low-cost resources, practical ideas, articles, events and psychoeducational content to help you understand children's emotional wellbeing and find ways to support them in everyday life.

You can explore the Hub while you're considering counselling — there is no expectation that you need to become a therapy client.

The Children's Psychology Hub is about psychology beyond the therapy room: making psychological understanding useful, practical and accessible in everyday childhood.

Where I work
I offer children's counselling in Eastbourne, East Sussex, as well as online support across the UK where appropriate.

Sessions are 50 minutes and are usually weekly, particularly when therapy begins. Children and young people are assessed individually so that we can consider what type of support is most appropriate for them.

If you're unsure whether counselling is right for your child, you're welcome to get in touch for an initial conversation. You don't need to have everything worked out before asking for help.

Eastbourne | East Sussex | Online UK

If your child is struggling with anxiety, low self-esteem, bereavement, family change, health, disability or simply seems not quite themselves, we can start by talking about what's happening and what they might need.

Training, qualifications & experience

I hold a BSc (Hons) in Counselling Psychology and a Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, and I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I am currently completing a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology, following doctoral-level clinical training alongside my work with children, young people and families.

My training has given me a strong foundation in developmental psychology, therapeutic practice and understanding the ways that relationships, environments and life experiences shape emotional wellbeing. I am particularly interested in looking beyond the presenting difficulty to understand the whole child — their experiences, relationships, identity, strengths and the world around them.

Alongside my clinical work, I founded The Children's Psychology Hub and its Shaping Childhood community project, which brings psychological thinking beyond the therapy room and into the places where childhood actually happens. Through resources, events, creative projects and community engagement, Shaping Childhood explores what children need to feel that they belong, feel safe, join in and have good days.

I believe supporting children's wellbeing isn't only about what happens in therapy. It is also about shaping the environments, relationships and communities in which children grow up.