Dear Mum,
I never told you how frightened I was that year. I smiled through every visit because I thought you needed me to. I needed you too.
— your daughter, still
[ Counselling & Therapy · Portstewart, N. Ireland · Online Worldwide ]
You are nottoo much.You have neverbeen too much.
Counselling and therapy for the moments that feel too heavy to hold. In person in Portstewart, or online from wherever you are. No judgement. No rush. Just a space to be heard.
[ BACP Registered · 12+ Years · Online & In-Person · Portstewart, BT55 ]
[ Scroll to enter ][ Est. 2013 ]
BACP Registered ✦12+ Years ✦Online Worldwide ✦Portstewart ✦No Judgement ✦No Rush ✦BACP Registered ✦12+ Years ✦Online Worldwide ✦Portstewart ✦No Judgement ✦No Rush ✦BACP Registered ✦12+ Years ✦Online Worldwide ✦Portstewart ✦No Judgement ✦No Rush ✦BACP Registered ✦12+ Years ✦Online Worldwide ✦Portstewart ✦No Judgement ✦No Rush ✦
A belief
“Therapy is not about fixing what is broken. It is about remembering what has always been whole.”
— Donna Sheppard
The Inner Garden
Four stages. One slow becoming.
From the seed of what has gone unspoken, to the harvest of a life lived more fully. Every way we can work together is a stage of the same garden.
Stage I · The Seed
Individual Counselling
for the unspoken
One to one, at your pace. A quiet room where the things you have carried alone can finally be set down and looked at, gently, together.
What this helps with
AnxietyGriefIdentityLow moodTraumaSelf-worth
Stage II · The Bloom
Online Therapy
for those who can't be in the room
The same care, the same attention, from wherever you are — across Northern Ireland, the UK, or the world. Secure video, at times that fit your life.
What this helps with
BurnoutTransitionsAnxietyExpat lifeParenthoodStress
Stage III · The Grove
Walk & Talk Therapy
for those who need to move
Side by side along the Portstewart strand and coastal path. Some words come more easily when we are walking, not facing one another.
What this helps with
StressBurnoutGriefFeeling stuckMen's wellbeingTransitions
Stage IV · The Harvest
Couples & Relationship Counselling
for those who share the garden
For partners who have stopped hearing each other. A neutral, warm space to untangle old patterns and remember what you were growing together.
What this helps with
CommunicationTrustConflictIntimacySeparationRelationships
The letters we never send
What they wrote, before they were ready to speak.
To the version of me at 19,
You were not dramatic. You were not too sensitive. You were alone with something enormous, and you kept going anyway.
— me, at 41
Dear Tom,
I keep setting two cups out in the morning. The house is so quiet I can hear the clock in the hall. I don't know who I am when nobody needs me.
— M.
To whoever reads this,
I'm fine. That's what I say. I've said it so many times I don't know what the true answer would sound like anymore.
— unsigned
The quiet proof
Notes left behind, in their own hand.
“I wrote you a letter six months ago. This is what I want to say now: thank you for never rushing me.”
“I came in convinced I was broken. I left knowing I had been carrying too much, for too long, on my own.”
“The walks along the strand gave me words I didn't have sitting down. I still walk that path every Sunday.”
“We nearly gave up. Donna helped us hear each other again — not perfectly, but honestly.”
Donna Sheppard · MBACP · Portstewart
I read your letter. Here is mine.
If you have found your way here, I imagine something has been sitting heavily with you for a while. Perhaps you have tried to carry it quietly. Perhaps you have told yourself it isn't bad enough to talk about. I want you to know: it is.
I have been a counsellor for more than twelve years. Before that, I was someone who needed one and didn't know how to ask. I remember the courage it took to pick up the phone. I remember sitting in the car outside, nearly driving away.
Whenever you are ready, I will be here.
How it works
Three gentle steps.
01
Reach Out
A message, a call, or a few lines on WhatsApp. No forms to perfect.
02
We Talk
A free 15-minute call to see how it feels. No obligation, ever.
03
We Begin
Weekly sessions, in the room, online, or on the coastal path.
[ Book your first session ]
The first step is the quietest one.
A 20-minute discovery call — free, gentle, no obligation. Just a chance to hear each other.
Step 1 of 3
What are you reaching for?
If something feels heavy, that's enough of a reason to reach out.
Begin a conversation →