Logo for Universal Roots Counselling featuring stylized 'UR' with roots extending from the letter R.

Universal Roots Counselling offers a friendly, safe and non-judgemental space to help you reconnect with your true, authentic self.

Using a holistic approach, we will work together to build a safe, compassionate and more resilient connection to the mind, body and soul, enabling you to process and release past traumas, stuck emotions and reprogram limiting beliefs and patterns.

Get in touch

About me.

A smiling woman with long brown hair and blue eyes outdoors in front of green foliage and pink and white flowers.

I’m Jess, I’m a heart-centred counsellor and the founder of Universal Roots Counselling.
I have a BA Degree dual hons in Social Policy and Criminology and a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling.

My roots are in the Yorkshire countryside and I believe that growing up in nature has inspired a lot of the way I live my own life as a woman, wife and mother, whilst also influencing my therapeutic process.

I have always been a highly sensitive person, picking up on the energies of the environment and others around me. I would often feel overwhelmed and was labelled as the “sensitive one”, however, learning to regulate my nervous system and connect with and feel into my sensitivities has allowed me to help myself and others on a much deeper level.

Ways I Work.

Our sessions are free flowing, allowing you to experience a whole spectrum of thoughts and emotions. I want people to be able to feel more with their hearts instead of living in their heads. To help people alchemise their pain and trauma into something more loving and purposeful; a journey back to the true self full of love, empowerment, purpose and resilience.

You may have explored your past and gained greater awareness, but your body, emotions and beliefs remain unchanged. That is because healing is not just about understanding, it’s about embodiment - learning to feel, connect, be present, and to live from your authentic self.

This space offers a slow, grounded, compassionate approach to help you reconnect to your inner world and the deeper rhythms of life.

Our work together aims to help you:

  • Slow down and listen to your body’s wisdom.

  • Feel and be with emotions rather than resisting or analysing them.

  • Cultivate compassion, empowerment and inner trust.

  • Build capacity for stillness, presence and safety.

  • Establish and hold boundaries.

  • Deepen your connection to your body, intuition and higher self.

  • Experience life in the present moment rather than from old patterns and coping mechanisms.

  • Work through trauma, pain, anger, shame and self-judgement with gentle guidance.

  • Learn from your past and reconnect to inner knowing and wisdom.

  • Move energy, process emotions and let the body unwind.

  • Repattern old beliefs and habitual ways of thinking.

  • Reconnect to your inner child and your natural creativity.

  • Strengthen connection to others, nature and the world around you.

  • Become more authentically you, rooted in passion, vitality and truth.

Regulation and Grounding.

As human beings, we share collective needs - to feel safe, seen, heard and loved. Sadly for many, these basic needs have gone unmet for lifetimes leaving many of us feeling disconnected and living in survival mode.

Initially, our work together is around building trust, safety and capacity within the mind, body and nervous system. This may simply be through talking and psychoeducation, through various somatic movements, polyvagal touch exercises, gentle breathwork and visualisation exercises. Achieving a sense of grounding and regulation enables us to better regulate our emotions and to not tip into a state of overwhelm. We learn to detect and listen to our body’s natural boundaries, what feels safe, what feels pleasurable and what feels too much. When we are able to regulate, we are able to allow our minds and bodies to release the stored survival stress, emotions and blocks, helping to create a sense of balance and calmness in our lives.

Close-up of fallen autumn leaves and grass on the ground with trees in the background at sunset.
A forest trail with exposed roots, moss-covered rocks, and damp soil, surrounded by tall trees.
A large tree in a field with a bench underneath at sunrise or sunset, with mist near the ground and a few smaller trees in the distance.

Sessions.

We cannot think our pain and trauma away, we must feel in order to heal. Our bodies sense and feel, move and store emotions, while our minds make interpretations, meanings and beliefs. This is why Universal Roots takes a holistic approach to mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, taking into account the mind, body and energetic system as a whole, as well as looking at the way our environment, culture, ancestry and society have affected us both individually and collectively.

Each journey is unique, shaped to your needs and your pace. Sessions draw from:

  • Polyvagal-informed practices to support nervous system regulation and safety.

  • Compassion-focused approaches to soften inner criticism and open the heart.

  • Simple somatic practices and gentle movement to help emotions shift through the body.

  • Gentle breathwork to ground, settle and deepen presence.

  • Psychodynamic and person-centred therapy to explore your inner world with understanding and care.

  • Inner parts work to meet and integrate the different aspects of self.

  • Meditation, visualisation and journeying for deeper insight, connection and healing.

  • A focus on reconnecting with the heart, intuition and embodied wisdom.

During our sessions together you may experience some somatic shifts. Somatic shifts and releases may feel like yawning, shaking, hot and cold, shivering, sweating, screaming, shouting, crying, humming, tensing, posture changes, bodily and facial movements or a simple change in breathing patterns. We will work together so that it feels safe and manageable and you can begin to understand the unique language of your body.

  • "By truly listening to what I was saying and having a deep curiosity about what I was going through, Jessica allowed me to come to some huge realisations about myself and I have left feeling happier, calmer and in more control of my life."

    — Reuben ​​

  • "Jessica provided a safe and intelligent space in which I could explore uncomfortable places of the memory and present circumstances. I am grateful for her intuitive understanding that was not reductive, but rather allowed space for complexity and nuance. I've discovered little truths that have opened up my mind and heart."

    — Anon ​

  • "I feel lighter, stronger and generally extremely happy now. Whilst life inevitably throws up its old challenges, I am able to deal with them in a way that feels natural for me, without feeling overwhelmed.”

    — Tom

  • "Jessica is extremely empathetic, understanding, warm and more importantly, non judgemental. She is very easy to talk to and open up to. She helped me understand my issues and helped me confront them, not run away from them. I can honestly say I never believed in counselling before I met Jessica, I believed I could resolve my issues myself, but Jessica truly changed that for me."

    — Lia

  • "Jessica was my first experience with a therapist and I was tremendously nervous about it but she made me feel at ease in no time. She is not simply an extremely helpful therapist, but she quickly became a friendly face. She also allowed her personality to shine through and could always make me laugh or feel valued. She made me realize the power of my own strength and with her help I now have a better understanding of the tools that are in my hands to overcome difficult situations and loneliness."

    — Flora

Pricing.

  • £85

  • £110

  • £95

Universal Roots offers a free 15 minute consultation over the phone.

Cancellations made within 48 hours of the booked session will be charged the full price.