Mary Prime, BACP

Mary Prime is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom with eight years of professional experience. She holds BACP accreditation, practised as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner within the NHS, and now works as a Social Prescriber with Community Mental Health Teams. Mary aims to meet people where they are and offer practical support for everyday struggles.

She focuses on issues such as stress, anxiety, grief and depression, and on life changes that can feel overwhelming. Mary also helps with relationship and intimacy concerns, eating and sleeping difficulties, parenting strains, low self-esteem, and career pressure. She has an interest in compassion fatigue and supports people coping with chronic pain and long-term illness.

Mary trained initially in person-centred counselling and qualified in 2018. Since then she has completed a higher level diploma and now draws on several counselling approaches, including cognitive behavioural strategies and mindfulness, to suit each person she sees. She is also training to become a health coach and can bring coaching techniques into sessions if that is helpful.

Much of her work has been provided online, and she offers evening and weekend appointments to fit around busy lives. Mary has experience supporting people through major life transitions, bereavement, and situations involving domestic violence and trauma when those issues are raised in therapy.

She can also support unpaid carers and people living with neurodiversity and related challenges, drawing on her own lived experience where appropriate. To begin, people are invited to make contact and set up an initial meeting to discuss their needs and plan next steps.

How her approaches translate to online therapy

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening and creating a warm, non-judgemental space. It helps people feel heard and makes it easier to explore feelings and choices. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at links between thoughts, feelings and actions and offers practical exercises to reduce anxiety or low mood. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce reactivity and improve focus.

Deciding which approach to use is a shared process. The therapist will discuss goals and preferences, try out methods, and adjust according to what feels most helpful. Sessions often mix elements of different approaches to suit the person's needs rather than sticking rigidly to one model.

Mary has primarily worked online since the pandemic and values the flexibility this offers for busy lives. Please confirm the current session options before booking so you know the formats available. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy around work or family commitments, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Registered or accredited professionals and therapists commonly use these benefits to help sessions fit into everyday life without changing the therapeutic focus.