Melisha Pillay

• Creative interventions
• Acceptance and commitment therapy
• Client-centred approach

About Melisha

Melisha Pillay works on stress, anxiety, relationships, trauma and abuse, self-esteem and depression using creative interventions and conversational counselling. She is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and has four years' experience in practice.

Melisha explains that creative work can help people move from where they are to where they want to be more quickly. She uses techniques that draw on non-verbal and imaginative processes alongside talking. Sessions also include evidence-based strategies from cognitive behavioural work and acceptance and commitment approaches when these suit the issue.

She pays attention to personal beliefs and values and may integrate a client's faith or religious framework into sessions where that is important. This can help people make changes that fit their own view of what matters. Melisha describes the counselling environment as one based on honesty and trust so that people can speak about difficult things.

Her practice covers a wide range of concerns, including addiction, grief, intimacy-related issues, eating and sleeping problems, parenting, anger, career matters and coping with life changes. She also works with attachment issues, adoption and foster care concerns, autism and long-term health conditions among other focus areas.

Sessions are conducted in English and Melisha accepts international clients. She uses a subscription-based payment model that can be cancelled at any time and notes that cost varies by location. To begin, users select the Talk to a counsellor online button, complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session.

How her approaches work in online counselling

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people focus on what matters and take small steps towards those values while learning to live with difficult thoughts and feelings. It is useful for stress, anxiety and coping with life changes.

Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns from early relationships and how they affect current connections. This approach can help with relationship difficulties, intimacy issues and attachment concerns.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The counsellor will work with the client to pick what fits best based on goals, preferences and the issue presented. This is a collaborative process and may change over time as progress is made.

Practical benefits of online sessions include fitting counselling around work and family commitments and reducing travel time. Online work can make it easier to check in from quieter surroundings or have shorter sessions during a busy day. The biography does not list specific session formats, so please confirm current session options before booking.

Topics Melisha lists

• Stress and anxiety
• Relationship issues
• Trauma and abuse
• Self-esteem
• Depression
• Addictions
• Family conflicts
• Grief
• Intimacy-related issues
• Eating disorders
• Sleeping disorders
• Parenting issues
• Anger management
• Career difficulties
• Bipolar disorder
• Coping with life changes
• Coaching
• Compassion fatigue
• ADHD
• Abandonment
• Adoption and foster care
• Aging and geriatric issues
• Antisocial personality
• Attachment issues
• Autism and Asperger Syndrome
• Avoidant personality
• Blended family issues
• Body image
• Cancer
• Caregiver issues and stress
• Chronic pain, illness, and disability
• Codependency
• Commitment issues
• Communication problems
• Control issues
• Dependent personality
• Dissociation
• Divorce and separation
• Domestic violence
• Drug and alcohol addiction
• Eating and food-related issues
• Emptiness
• Family of origin issues
• Family problems
• Fatherhood issues
• Fertility issues
• Forgiveness
• Guilt and shame
• HIV and AIDS
• Hoarding
• Immigration issues
• Infidelity
• Isolation and loneliness
• Jealousy
• Life purpose
• Midlife crisis
• Money and financial issues
• Mood disorders
• Multicultural concerns
• Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
• Panic disorder and panic attacks
• Phobias
• Postpartum depression
• Post-traumatic stress
• Pregnancy and childbirth
• Prejudice and discrimination
• Process addictions
• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
• Self-harm
• Self-love
• Sex addiction
• Sexual assault and abuse
• Sexual dysfunction
• Quitting smoking or vaping
• Social anxiety and phobia
• Women's issues
• Workplace issues
• Young adult issues

Ways of working

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Attachment-Based Therapy
• Client-Centred Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
• Existential Therapy
• Mindfulness Therapy
• Motivational Interviewing
• Psychodynamic Therapy
• Solution-Focused Therapy
• Somatic Therapy
• Trauma-Focused Therapy

Questions about Melisha

Does she work with anxiety?

Yes. Anxiety and stress are listed areas of focus and she uses approaches suited to these concerns.

What kind of counselling does she offer?

She combines creative interventions with client-centred work and draws on CBT and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy when helpful.

How much experience does she have?

She has four years' experience and is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Where is she based?

She practises in the United Kingdom.

Which languages are supported?

Sessions are offered in English.

Can international clients work with her?

Yes, she accepts international clients.

How much do sessions cost?

Cost varies with location and sessions are provided through a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.

How do I start a first session?

Click the Talk to a counsellor online button, complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule your first session.