Mandika Shah-Dhillon , BACP

Mandika Shah-Dhillon is a counselling psychotherapist based in the United Kingdom who offers a calm, steady presence for people feeling overwhelmed, emotionally unsettled, or unsure where to begin. She trained in Person-Centred Counselling and the Psychotherapeutic Relationship at the University of Warwick and is completing an MSc in Psychology of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Her professional registration includes BACP - the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, a UK professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists.

Across four years of practice, Mandika has worked in private practice, university mental health services, addiction support, and crisis roles. She supports people with anxiety, stress, trauma, low mood, identity concerns, relationship patterns, and the quieter pressures that build up over time. Her background informs an integrative way of working that combines person-centred foundations with trauma-aware methods and contemporary psychological perspectives.

Her style is warm, relational, and intuitive, meeting people where they are rather than expecting clear words or a neat plan on the first session. She emphasizes a gentle, paced approach that helps clients slow down, gain clarity, and feel heard rather than judged. Clients often describe therapy with her as steadying - a place to explore what lies beneath the surface and to find practical, compassionate ways forward.

Mandika provides therapy in English and focuses on a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, depression, relationship and family issues, grief, intimacy-related difficulties, eating and sleeping problems, parenting, anger, self-esteem, career concerns, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and compassion fatigue. She also attends to related areas such as attachment and abandonment experiences, caregiving stress, chronic illness and disability, and communication or commitment challenges.

Approaches for online therapy and how they help

Mandika commonly draws on Client-Centered Therapy and Trauma-Focused Therapy alongside Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to tailor online work to each person. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on creating a supportive, non-judgmental therapeutic relationship where the client’s experience guides the pace and topics of therapy - it is well suited to people seeking a compassionate space to explore identity, relationships, and ongoing life stresses. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) offers practical, structured ways to identify and shift unhelpful thoughts and behaviours - it can help with anxiety, low mood, sleep and coping strategies. Trauma-Focused Therapy attends specifically to the impacts of traumatic experiences by helping clients process difficult memories and reduce their current emotional and physical triggers.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Mandika works collaboratively with each person to understand their needs, goals, and preferences, and together they select or combine methods that feel most helpful and feasible for the client’s situation.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility and access. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives, continue support when travel is difficult, and choose the format that best matches a client’s comfort and communication style.