- Addictions and trauma
- Grief and parenting
- English and Portuguese
About Zaida
Zaida Fontes is a counsellor practising in the United Kingdom who supports people facing addictions, trauma, low self-esteem and depression. She welcomes conversations about grief, parenting strain and big life changes. Zaida emphasises a respectful, person-centred way of working and encourages people to trust their own knowledge about what they need.
She uses a mix of approaches in sessions, including attachment-based ideas, emotion-focused work and elements of dialectical behaviour therapy. Conversations are shaped around the client's concerns, with practical skills and reflective exploration used as needed. Zaida aims to help people notice patterns, strengthen coping skills and make decisions that fit their values.
Her background includes nine years of counselling experience and registration as NCPS, which is displayed as the credential NCPS. That experience has included supporting people through bereavement, family and relationship struggles, and the effects of abuse and domestic violence. She also works with issues such as codependency, abandonment and communication problems.
Sessions are offered in English and Portuguese, and she accepts international clients. The focus in early meetings is on building trust and clarifying what a person wants from counselling. Zaida invites people to take a gentle pace and to use sessions to try out new ways of relating to themselves and others.
To begin, she asks people to reflect on what matters most to them and to bring that into the first appointment. That first step is described as a courageous one, and her role is to listen, reflect and offer practical support as the person moves forward.
How her approaches translate to online counselling
Attachment-based work focuses on how early relationships influence current patterns. In simple terms it helps people notice how they connect with others and find new ways to feel safer in relationships. Emotionally-focused work centres on naming and processing feelings, which can help with grief, relationship worries and low self-worth. Dialectical behaviour therapy, or DBT, offers practical skills for managing strong emotions and reducing impulsive behaviour that can follow trauma or addiction.Finding the right approach is part of the process and the therapist will work collaboratively to decide what fits. She will listen to a person's goals, try different techniques and agree together on what helps most. That shared decision-making aims to keep sessions relevant and practical.
The biography does not specify session formats, so please confirm current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit counselling into a busy day, shorten travel time and allow for check-ins from different locations. It can also allow a mix of reflective conversation and skills practice that suits everyday life.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
9+ years
Credentials
Listed on profile
Languages
English, Portuguese
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she commonly address?
She supports people dealing with addictions, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem and depression, plus grief, anger and family stress.
What is her therapeutic style like?
She works in a person-centred way, combining attachment-focused work, emotion-focused approaches and DBT skills to suit each person's needs.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has nine years of professional counselling experience in the United Kingdom.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
Her listed credential is NCPS and she practises in the United Kingdom.
Which languages are supported in sessions?
Sessions are offered in English and Portuguese.
Can people outside the UK work with her?
She accepts international clients, so people based outside the UK can enquire about working together.
How does pricing work for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I begin therapy with her?
Choose the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule according to the therapist's availability.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.