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Cheryl McDonald-Tuckwell

Counsellor profile

Cheryl McDonald-Tuckwell, BACP

United Kingdom

BACP counsellor - family and parenting concerns

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About

  • Parenting support
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Neurodiversity aware

About Cheryl

Cheryl McDonald-Tuckwell is a BACP-registered counsellor in the United Kingdom with 16 years of professional experience. She offers weekly online work and has supported people with anxiety, depression, stress, parenting concerns and relationship worries. Cheryl also lists experience with trauma, grief, addiction and neurodivergence.

Cheryl uses a mix of practical talking approaches. Sessions are led by what the person brings each week. She helps people notice thoughts and patterns, set boundaries, and work on everyday skills like managing emotions and improving communication.

Her background includes work in GP practice settings, schools, women's services and cancer support. That work involved supporting parenting skills, helping with exam pressure and school avoidance, and helping people through miscarriage, stillbirth and fertility problems. She has also supported people affected by trauma and bereavement linked to violent crime.

She trained primarily in person-centred counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy, and she draws on motivational interviewing, narrative therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy when helpful. Cheryl supports neurodivergent adults and children, especially around social skills and emotional regulation, and she is attentive to sensory needs when working online.

As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, she offers an understanding space for people exploring sexual orientation or gender questions. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule a first session. The therapist offers weekly sessions by video, telephone or chat.

How sessions work

How her approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice unhelpful thoughts and make room for valued actions. It can be useful when someone wants to reduce avoidance and live according to personal values. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and gives simple strategies for managing anxiety, low mood and sleep problems. Client-Centred Therapy focuses on the person’s own priorities and supports clearer self-understanding through reflective conversation.

Deciding which approach to use is part of the work. The therapist will discuss options with the client and choose methods together, based on the person’s goals and practical needs. This keeps sessions responsive and collaborative rather than fixed around one model.

The biography says sessions are offered by video, telephone or chat, and they are weekly. If you are considering online work, check the current session options before booking so you know which formats are available. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and let someone use telephone rather than being on camera if that suits them better.

Areas of focus

Areas of expertise

Also works with

AddictionsFamily conflictsTrauma and abuseGriefIntimacy-related issuesEating disordersSleeping disordersParenting issuesAnger managementCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderDepressionCoachingCompassion fatigueADHD

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAttachment issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeAvoidant personalityBlended family issuesCommitment issuesCommunication problemsControl issuesCoping with natural or human-caused disasterDissociationDivorce and separationDomestic violenceFamily problemsForgivenessGuilt and shameImpulsivityInfidelityIsolation / lonelinessLife purposeMidlife crisisMoney and financial issuesNarcissismPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressPregnancy and childbirthProcess addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)Self-harmSelf-loveSexualitySocial anxiety and phobiaTrichotillomaniaWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Motivational InterviewingNarrative TherapySolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapyInternal Family Systems

Experience

16+ years

Listed in

United Kingdom

Languages

English

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of family or parenting concerns does she help with?

She lists parenting, blended family issues, adoption and foster care, and support for parents managing child-related worries among her focus areas.

How would you describe her therapeutic style?

She uses a person-centred way of working combined with CBT and other talking approaches, focusing on what a person brings each week and building practical skills.

How much experience does she have?

She has 16 years of professional experience across GP practice, schools, women’s services and cancer support settings.

What credential and location are listed?

She is registered with the BACP and is based in the United Kingdom.

Which languages are sessions offered in?

Sessions are offered in English.

Can people outside the UK work with her?

She does not accept international clients at this time.

What session formats does she provide?

The biography states she offers weekly sessions by video, telephone or chat; confirm the current session options before booking.

How are fees and the first steps organised?

Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time; to begin, complete the short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session.

Details come from information the counsellor supplied to BetterHelp. A registration can be checked with the body that issued it.

Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is in danger, use the crisis numbers.

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Cheryl McDonald-Tuckwell

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