Samantha Chater Therapy

06/02/2026

Why do we signpost to Samaritans? 💚

While we aim to connect you with the right counsellor, it’s important to be mindful that there may be times when you need immediate, 24/7 support. That’s where Samaritans can help.

Samaritans UK offer:

🤍 Confidential, non-judgemental emotional support

🕰️ 24/7 availability – day and night

👂 A safe space to talk and be listened to

💬 Support whether you’re in crisis or just need someone to talk to

How to contact Samaritans:

📞 Call 116 123 (free, UK & ROI)

✉️ Email jo@samaritans.org

🌐 Visit www.samaritans.org

You don’t have to face things alone. Support is always available. 💚

21/01/2026

People often ask if counselling can help with anxiety especially when your capacity to manage feels stretched thin.

I often support people who’ve spent years holding everything together for everyone else and suddenly realise they’ve run out of steam.

When life gets busy and you’re juggling work, family, caring roles, or big changes in your own body or identity, anxiety can creep up on you. You might feel on edge, overthinking things, or struggling to switch off, even when you’re exhausted.

In counselling, you get space to pause. We look at what’s been draining your capacity, the pressure you’ve been under, the expectations you’ve carried for so long, and the parts of you that have been pushed aside just to get through the day.

Together, we make sense of what’s going on underneath the anxiety and explore gentler, more realistic ways of managing things. Not by doing more, but by helping you feel calmer, clearer, and more able to cope.

If you’re feeling stretched beyond your limit, you’re not on your own and you don’t have to keep pushing through it.

Check out my latest blog post on anxiety

Discover how counselling for anxiety can help you understand anxiety, ease symptoms, and feel steadier in midlife. Support to help you manage anxiety.

15/01/2026

Deciding to come to counselling is rarely straightforward. Most people don’t avoid it because they don’t need support. They avoid it because of what it brings up.

Some worry they won’t know what to say, or that they’ll say too much. Others fear opening things up and not being able to cope with what comes out. There’s often a belief that it’s not bad enough yet or that they should be able to manage on their own.

For many, life is already full and hectic. Work, family, caring for others counselling can feel like one more thing to fit in, even though it’s often the very thing that could ease the load.

There can also be quiet shame. Thoughts like, other people have it worse or I should be stronger than this, stop people from reaching out, even when they’re exhausted from holding everything together.

Counselling isn’t about being broken or failing. It’s about having a space where you don’t have to cope alone, explain yourself, or keep going at all costs.

If any of this resonates, you don’t have to decide anything right now. You’re welcome to get in touch for a gentle, no-pressure chat to see whether counselling feels right for you.

04/01/2026

The first session is often the one people feel most unsure about. Not because it’s difficult but because it’s unfamiliar.

There’s no test, no pressure to know what to say, and no expectation that you’ll tell your whole life story.

We’ll go at your pace. You can share as much or as little as feels comfortable. Some people talk a lot, others take time to find their words. Both are completely okay.

I’ll also explain how counselling works, answer any questions you might have, and make sure you understand things like confidentiality and boundaries, so you know where you stand.

Most importantly, the first session is about seeing how it feels to sit together and talk.

Counselling works best when you feel safe and comfortable with the person you’re speaking to. There’s no obligation to continue if it doesn’t feel right.

Many people leave their first session often feeling lighter, not because everything is solved, but because they’ve finally had space to say things out loud.

If you’re feeling nervous about taking that first step, that’s very normal. You don’t have to have it all worked out just showing up is enough.

If you’re thinking about counselling and have questions, you’re welcome to get in touch.

02/01/2026

Around this time of year, there’s a lot of pressure to make New Year’s resolutions. Promises to do better, be better, change everything, often overnight. Some stick for a while, many don’t, and that can leave us feeling like we’ve failed before the year has really begun.

What if, instead of big resolutions, we focused on small, steady habits? The kind that support you rather than judge you.

One habit that can make a real difference is learning to be kinder to yourself. Not in a perfect way just in the moments you notice the self-criticism, the pushing through, or the feeling that you’re never quite doing enough.

Kindness towards yourself isn’t about lowering standards or giving up. It’s about recognising that you’re human, doing your best, and allowed to move at your own pace. Over time, that shift can change how you feel, how you cope, and how you show up in your life.

If you carry a lot of self-pressure, counselling can be a space to explore where that comes from and how to soften it. Small changes, practiced gently, can add up to something meaningful over the year ahead.

31/12/2025

As 2025 begins to draw to a close, I’ve found myself reflecting on what it’s held.

This year hasn’t been about big, shiny moments. It’s been about quieter shifts, learning when to pause, when to keep going, and when to let something go. There were times of doubt and tiredness, moments where decisions felt heavy and unclear. But those moments also brought clarity, resilience, and a deeper sense of what truly matters to me.

I’ve learned a lot more about myself this year, about boundaries, values, and trusting my own judgement. I’ve had the privilege of supporting others through change, uncertainty, and growth, and that continues to feel deeply meaningful to me.

As I look towards 2026, I’m not rushing ahead with grand promises. I’m stepping forward feeling steadier, more grounded, and open to what comes next. With curiosity rather than pressure. With intention rather than expectation.

Here’s to carrying the lessons forward, leaving behind what no longer fits, and meeting the next chapter with openness and care.

31/12/2025

Your social feed is probably about to fill up with “best of 2025” posts. And while it’s genuinely lovely to see people celebrating themselves, it can also quietly hurt if your own year has been about getting through rather than shining.

If 2025 has been a year of panic, low mood, grief, trauma, loss, or simply holding it together when everything felt heavy. I want you to know this: you’re not weak, and you’re not behind.

Some years don’t leave room for highlights. They ask for endurance instead. And that takes an enormous amount of strength, even if no one else sees it.

If you’re reading this and thinking “that’s me”, you don’t have to carry it on your own.

I’m Samantha Chater, a counsellor based in Sale and Carrington, also working online. I offer a calm, down-to-earth space to talk things through at your pace.

If all you did this year was survive that still counts.

You can get in touch for a free 20-minute phone or online chat:

📱 07799 032191
✉️ info@samanthachatertherapy.co.uk
🌿 www.samanthachatertherapy.co.uk

31/12/2025

The New Year can stir up all kinds of complicated feelings, especially if you’re struggling at the moment. Add in the pressure to celebrate and it can all just feel like too much.

If you find this a hard time of year, you're not on your own – we’ll be here all night long 💚

30/12/2025

As the year comes to a close, many people notice a mix of feelings, relief, tiredness, reflection, and sometimes things that haven’t quite been spoken or settled.

If you’re carrying anxiety, low mood, grief, relationship difficulties, or a sense of feeling stuck, you don’t have to take all of that with you into the new year on your own.

I have a limited number of counselling spaces available for 2026 at Samantha Chater Therapy, offering in-person counselling at the Nebula Centre in Carrington and Thrive Wellbeing Hub in Sale, as well as online.

I offer a calm, non-judgemental space to talk things through at your own pace.

Taking the first step can feel daunting, but it can also be the beginning of something steadier and more hopeful.

If you’d like to find out more or check availability, you’re very welcome to get in touch. I offer a free 20-minute phone or online consultation.

📧 info@samanthachatertherapy.co.uk
📞 07799 032191
🌐 www.samanthachatertherapy.co.uk

Samantha Chater
Samantha Chater Therapy

28/12/2025

This space between Christmas and New Year can feel quiet.
A New Year approaching can feel heavy rather than hopeful.
When grieving, this space can bring up thoughts, memories or emotions you weren’t expecting.
Journaling can be a gentle way to sit with what’s there.
Here's three prompts to help you reflect on 2025 and look to 2026.

For more information, visit https://ow.ly/ONrQ50XL2Cj

11/12/2025

Your responses aren’t overreactions, they’re survival strategies that once kept you safe, or even alive.

So many people carry a quiet shame about the ways they react, the panic that feels “too much,” the urge to keep the peace at any cost, the need to stay in control, or the sudden tears that seem to come out of nowhere.

But these patterns didn’t appear out of thin air. They were shaped in moments when you had no choice but to adapt. They helped you get through experiences that were overwhelming, uncertain, or simply too heavy for the version of you who lived them.

And here’s the part we don’t always realise: those strategies worked. They protected you. They got you here.

As life changes, though, the old ways of coping can start to feel uncomfortable. What once kept you safe might now feel limiting or exhausting. It doesn’t mean you’re “too sensitive” or “not coping” it means your system is ready for something gentler, steadier, more attuned to who you are today.

Counselling is often the space where you can begin to understand this shift. When you understand where a response came from, you’re no longer ruled by it. You get to choose differently, slowly, in your own time.

If any of this resonates

You’re not alone.
You’re not broken
You’ve adapted

If you’d like support as you explore these patterns and what they mean for you now, I’m here.

Get in touch for a free consultation. Link in comments.