Claire Sims , BACP

Claire Sims is a counsellor with 20 years of experience working in the United Kingdom. She draws on long experience helping people with stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties and trauma. She also supports people facing grief, low self-esteem, addiction and challenges such as eating or sleeping problems.

Claire trained in psychodynamic counselling and now practises in an integrative way, combining approaches to suit each person. She emphasises a client-led pace and works alongside people so they feel more in control of the process. Sessions aim to be respectful, sensitive and compassionate.

Her background includes work in rape crisis services, bereavement support at a hospice, helplines and community mental health settings. That experience gave her a broad view of lives affected by domestic and sexual violence, loss, and complex emotional needs. She has also run phone and video services and trained other counsellors to work online.

People contact Claire for a wide range of concerns including relationship and intimacy difficulties, family and parenting strain, anger, career stress, bipolar and depression, and adjustment to life changes. She also addresses attachment and abandonment issues, communication problems, and feelings of emptiness or isolation.

Sessions are offered in English and delivered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging. Claire works collaboratively to find an approach that fits each person’s goals and life circumstances.

Psychodynamic approaches and remote counselling

Claire's core approach comes from psychodynamic therapy, which looks at how past experiences and patterns influence present feelings and relationships. This way of working helps when people struggle with long-standing relationship problems, attachment or feelings of emptiness.

She combines that psychodynamic base with an integrative outlook, drawing on different ways of working to meet a person's needs. That flexibility means the focus can shift to practical coping, emotional processing or exploring past patterns depending on what the person wants to achieve.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Claire collaborates with each person to agree goals and try methods that feel helpful. She adapts the pace and focus as progress is made so therapy stays relevant to changing needs.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging. Video calls are useful for a more conversational session, phone sessions are often easier when bandwidth is limited, chat works well for shorter check-ins and messaging suits ongoing reflection between appointments. These formats offer flexibility for people balancing work, family or mobility limitations and make it easier to keep therapy consistent.