About Donna
Donna Mcallister is a counsellor who draws on somatic approaches alongside talking therapies to help people feel more settled in their bodies and minds. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Therapeutic Counselling (Hons) and is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, often shortened to BACP.
She has three years of professional experience working with common difficulties such as stress, anxiety and depression. She focuses on building a trusting, respectful working relationship.
Background and approach
Sessions aim to be non-judgemental and calm so people can talk through what matters to them. The work can include noticing how emotions show up in the body as well as using practical talking strategies. Donna helps people facing a wide range of concerns including relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, grief, trauma, and challenges with eating or sleeping.
She also supports those dealing with life changes, caregiving strain, addiction, ADHD and compassion fatigue. Sessions are tailored to the person’s needs rather than a fixed model. Her approach brings together somatic awareness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and cognitive tools to help people manage thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Attachment-based ideas and client-centred listening inform how she responds in sessions. This mix is aimed at helping people learn new ways to cope and make clearer choices. For people new to counselling, Donna encourages taking a small first step.
The initial conversations focus on what someone wants to change and practical next steps. She works with English-speaking clients in the United Kingdom and with international clients where arrangements allow.
How somatic and talking approaches work online
Donna blends somatic awareness with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and attachment-based ideas. Somatic work involves noticing how stress or emotions show up in the body and using simple grounding or breathing techniques to regulate those sensations; it can help with anxiety, trauma responses and chronic stress. ACT focuses on values-based action and learning to accept difficult feelings while committing to small, meaningful steps; it is useful for worry, depression and life transitions. Attachment-based ideas look at relationship patterns and how early connections shape current reactions, which can help with intimacy and trust issues.Finding the right approach is part of the therapy process. Donna will work collaboratively to see which combination of methods suits the person's goals, preferences and everyday life. Sessions are shaped together so techniques feel practical and relevant rather than prescriptive.
Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging. These formats offer flexibility for people juggling work, caring roles or different time zones. They also make it easier to continue therapy from home and to use short check-ins or longer sessions according to what helps most.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- 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
- Hearing impaired
- 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)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Traumatic brain injury
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Imago Relationship Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 3 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English