Why UK Therapy Guild Exists
Before you think about whether counselling training is right for you, we want to share the story of why UK Therapy Guild exists at all. Because this is not a school that was built from a business plan. It was built from lived experience.
This is Nichola’s story, in her own words.
From Nichola Doyle, Founder
Today, I have a life that feels safe, grounded, and full. I am happily married to my husband Jim, who I have been with since I was 16, and we have two wonderful grown-up daughters. But that sense of safety is something I had to find, not something I always had.
My childhood was shaped by instability. When my parents’ marriage broke down, I was placed into the care system and went to live with my grandparents, separated from my brother. I grew up carrying a deep sense of not being enough, and navigating a difficult relationship with my father. Eventually, I had to make the painful decision to step away from that relationship to protect my own sense of self.
Life brought moments of joy, but also profound loss. In a very short space of time, I lost my nan, my brother, my mum, my mother-in-law, and my best friend. The weight of that grief was overwhelming, and I found myself spiralling. It was at that point I knew I needed support.
My early experiences of counselling were difficult. I experienced frequent changes in therapists, which intensified feelings of abandonment, and later I found myself in a space where I did not feel heard or met. I remember leaving sessions feeling more alone than when I went in.
And if I am honest, that is where something shifted.
It was not just frustration. It was clarity. I realised how important it is to feel safe, seen, and genuinely understood in a therapeutic space. I knew there had to be a better way of doing this work, both in how we support clients and how we train therapists.
So I trained.
Through that process, particularly within integrative counselling, psychodynamic thinking, and attachment theory, I began to understand myself in a way I never had before. Not just intellectually, but deeply, personally. It changed my life.
And from that, UK Therapy Guild was born.
At the heart of everything we do is a simple belief: hurt people often go on to hurt others. But with the right support, awareness, and care, that cycle can be broken.
That is why our diplomas are not just about learning theory. They are designed to hold you, to gently challenge you, and to help you grow into the kind of therapist who can sit with another human being in a real and meaningful way.
With warmth,
Nichola Doyle
Founder and Director, UK Therapy Guild
What Nichola brings to the training
Over 20 years in education
Nichola holds an MA in Education and Teaching, a BA Hons in Education with QTS, and has spent decades working in teaching and management before transitioning into the therapeutic field.
Fully qualified integrative counsellor and clinical hypnotherapist
Nichola holds Level 5 Diplomas in both Integrative Counselling and Clinical Hypnotherapy, a Level 6 in Counselling Supervision, and is a Senior Accredited Member of both the NCIP and ACCPH, and a Member of the BACP.
Active practitioner
Nichola runs her own practice, Bridge to the Other Side Counselling and Hypnotherapy, working with adults and young people across diverse settings including schools and specialist services. She uses EMDR, trauma-informed approaches, and specialist addiction therapies. The techniques you will learn on this course are the same ones she uses every day.
“When you join us, you are not just enrolling on a course. You are stepping into a community. You are investing in yourself. And you are becoming part of a ripple effect that reaches far beyond this room.”
Nichola Doyle
When you are ready, mark this lesson as complete and move on.