Claire Sims, BACP

Claire Sims is a fully qualified counsellor practising in the United Kingdom with two decades of professional experience supporting people through difficult life events and complex emotional challenges. She works with a wide range of issues including stress and anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, sexual and domestic violence, grief and loss, as well as concerns around self-esteem, addiction, parenting, sleep and eating, and other areas that affect everyday functioning. Claire describes her practice as client led and trauma informed, offering sensitive, respectful, and compassionate support delivered at a pace set by each person she works with.

Her training began in 2000 and she started seeing clients in 2005. Trained in psychodynamic counselling and now practising as an integrative counsellor, Claire draws on core psychodynamic ideas alongside other therapeutic skills to tailor her approach to individual needs. She holds the BACP credential - the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - reflecting professional standards and membership of a recognised counselling body.

Over the years Claire has worked in a variety of roles and settings. Her experience includes counselling and service coordination at Suffolk Rape Crisis, developing outreach and video counselling services, training counsellors to work online and by telephone, bereavement counselling at St Elizabeth Hospice, group work and counselling for new mothers with postnatal depression, and support roles with services for people with emotionally unstable personality traits. She has also worked within IAPT services, launched dementia counselling and telephone counselling initiatives, overseen helplines, and facilitated groups such as Food and Mood and Anger Management. This breadth of experience informs a flexible, collaborative style aimed at helping clients regain a sense of control and make meaningful changes.

Psychodynamic and Integrative Approaches Delivered Online

Claire works from psychodynamic principles and an integrative perspective to explore and support change. Psychodynamic therapy focuses on patterns that developed over time - for example in relationships or reactions to stress - and helps people understand how past experiences shape current feelings and behaviours. This approach can be useful for issues such as attachment problems, repeated relationship difficulties, unresolved grief, and the emotional effects of trauma.

As an integrative counsellor Claire combines psychodynamic insight with other therapeutic skills and interventions to suit each person. She collaborates with clients to identify the most helpful ways of working, adapting techniques and pace to match goals, needs, and personal preferences. Choosing the right approach is part of the therapeutic process and Claire supports clients in finding what fits best.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging make it easier to attend around work, family, or mobility limitations. Registered professionals and therapists can provide consistent, ongoing support through these formats, allowing people to engage in meaningful therapeutic work from their own locations while maintaining continuity of care and scheduling convenience.