Counsellor profile
Cheryl Tan-Bell, PACFA
PACFA counsellor - Relationships and Family
Continue with CherylAbout
- Attachment based
- Client centred
- CBT and EFT
About Cheryl
Cheryl Tan-Bell is a PACFA counsellor in Australia with 15 years of professional experience. She helps people who are struggling with relationship strain, family tensions, trauma and abuse, grief, and the pressures of parenting and everyday life.
Cheryl often works from an attachment-based and client-centred framework. She focuses on understanding how early bonds and current connections affect the way people relate now. Sessions aim to clarify what matters to the client and to address patterns that keep causing pain.
She also uses cognitive behavioural techniques and elements of emotionally focused work to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and to shift interactions that escalate conflict. Practical steps and short-term strategies are balanced with attention to deeper emotional needs.
In sessions Cheryl takes a trauma-aware stance, paying attention to how past hurt shapes present reactions without assuming any single explanation. She encourages straightforward conversation about feelings, boundaries and safety so people can make clearer choices about relationships and parenting.
People come to Cheryl for help with specific family problems like blended family issues, caregiver stress, communication breakdowns, and separation. She also works with issues such as abandonment, attachment difficulties, codependency, sexual diversity and kink, and first responder stress.
To begin, Cheryl asks clients to describe current concerns and what they want to change. That information guides practical goal-setting and the choice of techniques used in sessions.
How sessions work
Therapeutic approaches and online work
Cheryl uses attachment-based approaches to look at how early and current relationships shape emotional responses. This work can help when trust, abandonment fears or repeating patterns cause conflict in close relationships.She also draws on client-centred therapy, which focuses on listening and responding to what the individual needs in the room. That approach is useful for people who want to be heard and to build clearer goals for change.
In addition she uses cognitive behavioural techniques to identify and shift unhelpful thoughts and behaviours that increase anxiety or conflict. CBT tools are often applied to manage stress, low mood and relationship-related worries.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work. Cheryl will discuss options with each person and together decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That collaborative process helps match practical steps to deeper relational themes.
The profile does not list specific online session formats, so confirm the available options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Therapists and appropriately qualified professionals adapt methods so the work remains practical and focused, even when delivered remotely.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
15+ years
Listed in
Australia
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of family or relationship issues does she help with?
She helps with relationship strain, blended family problems, communication breakdowns, divorce and separation, and family of origin issues.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style blends attachment-based and client-centred approaches with practical CBT and emotionally focused techniques to address feelings and interaction patterns.
How much experience does she have in this work?
She has 15 years of professional experience working with relationship and family concerns as well as trauma and grief.
What credential does she hold and where is she located?
She is PACFA credentialed and is based in Australia.
Can she work with people who don’t speak English?
Sessions are offered in English only.
What session formats are available?
The original profile does not list specific session formats; please confirm current session options before booking.
How are fees handled?
Cost varies by location and sessions use a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I start working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a 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.