Claire Smith

• Stress and anxiety
• Trauma and abuse
• Neurodiversity support

About Claire

Claire Smith works with stress, anxiety, low mood, relationship and family concerns, trauma and abuse, grief, eating and intimacy-related issues, parenting pressures, anger, self-esteem, career questions and neurodiversity-related difficulties. She uses a mix of talking approaches and practical strategies and brings four years of professional experience. Claire is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Claire adapts sessions to the things people bring. She listens to the immediate problem and then helps people try out different ways of coping. That can mean looking at thoughts and behaviours, practising new communication, or working on patterns from early relationships.

Her background includes work in NHS settings, including a children's crisis unit where she supported people with severe mental health needs and higher risk presentations. That experience informs how she approaches complex cases and safety planning in the room.

Claire works with people who identify with neurodiversity and with conditions such as ADHD, autism and obsessive compulsive disorder. She also supports those facing complicated grief, relationship separation and the stresses of caregiving.

Sessions are conversational and practical. Claire aims to help people notice what is keeping a problem going and to try simple experiments between sessions. She discusses options clearly and helps people choose approaches that fit their situation.

People can expect straightforward explanations of therapeutic methods and what a suggested plan might involve, with room to review progress and change direction if needed.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on identifying values and taking small, workable steps towards them while learning to relate differently to difficult thoughts and feelings; it can help with anxiety, low mood and life changes. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) looks at thoughts, feelings and behaviours and uses practical exercises and experiments to shift unhelpful patterns; it is helpful for anxiety, mood and some trauma-related symptoms. Attachment-Based Therapy pays attention to patterns that developed in close relationships and supports people to try different ways of connecting and communicating when relationships are causing distress.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Claire will discuss these methods with the person she is seeing and together they will decide which approach to try first, adjusting as they learn what helps and what does not. The joint decision is guided by the person's goals, preferences and the issues they bring.

The biography does not list specific session formats, so please confirm the options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit counselling into a busy week, reduce travel time and support shorter check-ins or longer sessions as needed. Registered or accredited professionals often use online sessions to maintain continuity of care and to offer flexible scheduling that fits everyday life.

Topics Claire lists

• Stress and anxiety
• Relationship issues
• Family conflicts
• Trauma and abuse
• Depression
• Grief
• Intimacy-related issues
• Eating disorders
• Parenting issues
• Anger management
• Self-esteem
• Career difficulties
• Bipolar disorder
• Coping with life changes
• Coaching
• Compassion fatigue
• ADHD
• Abandonment
• Antisocial personality
• Attachment issues
• Autism and Asperger Syndrome
• Avoidant personality
• Body image
• Caregiver issues and stress
• Co-morbidity
• Codependency
• Commitment issues
• Communication problems
• Control issues
• Dependent personality
• Dissociation
• Divorce and separation
• Domestic violence
• Drug and alcohol addiction
• Emptiness
• Family of origin issues
• Family problems
• Fatherhood issues
• Fertility issues
• Forgiveness
• Gender dysphoria
• Guilt and shame
• Hoarding
• Impulsivity
• Infidelity
• Intellectual disability
• Isolation and loneliness
• Jealousy
• Life purpose
• Men's issues
• Midlife crisis
• Money and financial issues
• Mood disorders
• Narcissism
• Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
• Panic disorder and panic attacks
• Paranoia
• Personality disorders
• Phobias
• Post-traumatic stress
• Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
• Self-harm
• Self-love
• Social anxiety and phobia
• Women's issues
• Workplace issues
• Young adult issues

Ways of working

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Attachment-Based Therapy
• Client-Centred Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
• Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
• Existential Therapy
• Jungian Therapy
• Mindfulness Therapy
• Motivational Interviewing
• Narrative Therapy
• Psychodynamic Therapy
• Solution-Focused Therapy
• Somatic Therapy
• Trauma-Focused Therapy
• Internal Family Systems

Questions about Claire

Does she work with anxiety?

Yes. Anxiety and stress are listed among her core areas of work and she uses evidence-based approaches to address them.

What kind of counselling does she offer?

She uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based work, Client-Centred techniques, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy approaches.

What experience does she have?

She has four years of professional experience, including work in an NHS children's crisis unit with severe mental health presentations.

Where is she based and what are her credentials?

She practises in the United Kingdom and is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

What languages does she use in sessions?

Sessions are offered in English.

Can people outside the UK book sessions?

No, she does not take clients outside the United Kingdom at this time.

How are sessions arranged and what formats are available?

Session formats are not specified in the biography; please confirm the current session options before booking.

How much do sessions cost and how do payments work?

Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.