Hi,
My name is Petina.
It is lovely to meet you and thank you for taking the time to check out my Betterhelp profile.
I am an Ambassador for Betterhelp, and an Advanced Integrative Therapeutic Counsellor and member of the BACP. I am based in Devon, in the UK.
My work as a counsellor is hugely important to me.
Helping clients to gain clarity provides me with an immense amount of job satisfaction. I am passionate about providing clients who need help with a quality and efficient service, actively listening to clients, providing them with a safe space to be heard. I never underestimate the life-changing and in many cases life-saving impact that counselling can and does have on clients lives.
I practice several models of therapy.
My work is primarily Solution Focused and Intuitive.
I use Transactional Analysis (TA) as my underpinning framework.
I may incorporate CBT approaches, NLP and Mindfulness techniques into my sessions..
My specialisms include working with addictions, anxiety, stress and anger management as well as relationship issues, in particular, co-dependency. I am especially interested in the link between stress and trauma, addiction and dependency issues with our Driver (TA) behaviours
I can help clients address many issues, including Abuse, Addictions, Anxiety, Bereavement, Depression, Health related issues, Identity issues, Loss, Obsessions, Personal development, Post-traumatic stress, Relationships, Self esteem, Spirituality, Trauma, Women's issues
I have worked as a counsellor, trainer and drugs and alcohol professional for over 18 years. I have facilitated groups and treatment programmes as well as triaging clients, completing assessments and providing 1:1 online interventions for service users, clients and families as a senior member on the Clinical Assessments & Brief Interventions Team within my local drugs and alcohol service.
In recent years my focus has been on developing my private practice and investing my time into my own personal and business development. It my intention to write a book based about my integrative approach to specifically help clients struggling with addiction and co-dependency.
I qualified in 2008 after training at The Iron Mill Institute, Exeter, UK. I am experienced, confident, and skilled in working with many modalities, which means that I can tailor make the counselling interventions to best fit my clients needs at that time; which vary from session to session.
My work is client lead… therefore determined by what they bring to each session.
I am experienced in working with many other aspects of "life" that may cause a person to look for counselling support. I previously ran my own wellbeing centre in Exeter for 21 years, which achieved the Best Small Business Award for having established a reputation based on the provision of a high quality service and high standards of care for our clients. It was during this time that I developed a desire to help people on a deeper level and more importantly, make sure I was using my natural listening skills and empathy, in the best way possible.. I have a naturally empathic nature, with "tuned-in" listening skills. I always prioritise confidentiality above all else. I believe these combined attributes enable clients to open up and trust me with their most private and sensitive issues quickly. Providing a place of safety, in a private, holding and nurturing environment.
During my time as a beauty therapist, I naturally supported many clients through a great deal of traumatic and challenging issues, including through the process of gender reassignment, cancer, divorce and significant loss. And it has been a privilege to continue working with clients on a deeper level as I moved from the world of beauty therapy to psycho-therapy.
When I started my counselling training, my interest in Stress management grew which lead me to travel to San Francisco to complete StressMap© training.
It has been important to me to develop my skills, to continue learning a variety of modalities. It has been incredible to integrate energy healing into my practice in recent years. Working with the subconscious mind has been a real eye opener for me, and my clients.
I am currently training in Hypnotherapy, Advanced Belief Coding®️, Vanta Breathwork and Root Cause Therapy.
The majority of my work continues to be online.
My first session
When i receive a referral, call or contact from a potential client expressing an interest in counselling, I firstly send my counselling information and a contract for counselling along with my privacy notice.
I provide clients with a unique number, which is used to password protect any potentially identifiable correspondence between us.
It is important to develop a counselling contract, to establish what the client wishes to achieve by engaging in counselling. "Beginning with the end in mind" (Steven Covey), helps establish direction and keep the work focused. Our first session will clarify the issues and desired outcome. I use monitoring tools at the start, and throughout my work, to monitor progress and swiftly identify any risks.
I do not encourage “counselling dependency”. I aim to complete the work in a timely manner, however, the value in having a “secure base” a place to feel safe to talk without judgement or time constraints, cannot be underestimated. I work hard to balance these two aspects of Talking Therapy in my own practice.
Additional areas of focus: Trauma and abuse, Intimacy-related issues, Eating disorders, Sleeping disorders, Parenting issues, Anger management, Self esteem, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Depression, Coping with life changes, Compassion fatigue, Abandonment, Attachment issues, Body image, Cancer, Caregiver issues and stress, Codependency, Commitment issues, Communication problems, Control issues, Coping with natural or human-caused disaster, Dependent personality, Divorce and separation, Domestic violence, Drug and alcohol addiction, Eating and food-related issues, Emptiness, Family of origin issues, Family problems, Fatherhood issues, Forgiveness, Guilt and shame, Impulsivity, Isolation / loneliness, Jealousy, Life purpose, Midlife crisis, Veteran and Armed Forces Issues, Money and financial issues, Mood disorders, Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Paranoia, Post-traumatic stress, Pregnancy and childbirth, Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-harm, Self-love, Sex addiction, Sexual assault and abuse, Social anxiety and phobia, Women's issues, Workplace issues, Young adult issues
Clinical approaches: Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Mindfulness Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy
BACP Therapist - Registered Member MBACP #53359
These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Petina Walker. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.
Tina's been fantastic - we've covered everything I wanted to explore plus a whole load more, which is unexpected and terribly helpful. I really enjoy her sessions and feel like I've got exactly what I was hoping for in a relatively short space of time. Highly recommend.
Written on Apr 28, 2026 after therapy with Petina for 4 weeks on issues concerning addictions
Working with Petina has been truly transformative. She creates such a warm, safe space where I feel genuinely heard and understood. Her insights are thoughtful, gentle, and incredibly grounding, helping me gain clarity in moments where I feel overwhelmed.
Written on Apr 20, 2026 after therapy with Petina for 3 years and 3 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, intimacy-related issues, sleeping disorders, self esteem, career difficulties, compassion fatigue, and adhd
I’ve been working with Tina for over 18 months, and she’s been incredibly considerate throughout. She provides great tools that help me navigate challenges and has helped me understand my concerns more clearly.
Written on Jun 22, 2025 after therapy with Petina for 2 years and 5 months on issues concerning stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, and coping with life changes
Petina is the best therapist I have had in over 15 years
Written on Jun 07, 2025 after therapy with Petina for 3 months on issues concerning family conflicts
Petina is my therapist and we have established a beautiful relationship where Petina understands what I need in each theraphy session. The session unfolds intuitively and brings me to a beautiful state of balance. I would highly recommend Petina if you want a soulful therapist who can provide you with exactly what theraphy session you need with her mang years of experience and insightful heart work.
Written on May 25, 2025 after therapy with Petina for 3 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, self esteem, and coping with life changes
Thank you so much for being a attentive listener and attending my needs in every efficiently way. <3
Written on Aug 08, 2024 after therapy with Petina for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, sleeping disorders, self esteem, anger management, career difficulties, bipolar disorder, coping with life changes, and compassion fatigue