Claire Austen , NCPS

Claire Austen is a counsellor who helps people manage anxiety, stress, low mood and relationship difficulties. She works with issues such as grief, parenting strain, addictions and self-esteem concerns. Claire uses a warm, non-judgemental manner to help people talk through what matters to them and find clearer next steps.

She draws mainly on a person-centred way of working. That means she listens closely and follows the client’s pace while helping them notice patterns that hold them back. Over five years of practice she has supported people through coping with big life changes and family of origin problems.

Claire also integrates practical tools from cognitive behavioural approaches to help reduce symptoms day to day. Those strategies are used alongside deeper reflection about attachment, past experiences and emotional patterns. This mix aims to balance immediate coping skills with understanding longer-term drivers of distress.

Clients can expect a calm space to talk honestly about difficult feelings such as anger, abandonment or emptiness. Claire pays attention to communication problems, codependency and body image issues when they come up in sessions. She also addresses concerns linked to ageing, caregiver stress and eating-related struggles.

Sessions are offered in English and Claire accepts international clients. Her NCPS credential is listed with her name as provided. She works remotely and offers several online formats to fit different needs and routines.

How Claire’s approaches work online

Claire uses a person-centred framework that focuses on the person’s own goals and self-understanding. In practice this means the counsellor listens actively, reflects what she hears, and helps people notice blocks that get in the way of change. This approach suits people wanting a supportive space to make sense of difficult feelings.

She also uses cognitive behavioural techniques to offer practical steps for day-to-day coping. Those strategies might include simple behavioural experiments, thought records or activity planning to reduce anxiety and low mood. CBT is useful when someone wants clear tools to manage symptoms between sessions.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. Claire collaborates with each person to decide what feels most useful based on their needs and preferences. That means trying things, checking what helps, and adjusting the focus as therapy progresses.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging, which bring practical benefits. Video calls let people maintain face-to-face connection from wherever they are. Phone sessions need less bandwidth and can fit into a short break at work. Live chat and messaging allow shorter check-ins or a written way to process thoughts between meetings. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life and to choose the way of talking that feels most comfortable.