Claire Phillips

Claire Phillips is a counsellor with ten years' professional experience and registration with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). She offers a calm, person-centred approach that aims to make it easier to talk about difficult feelings. Claire creates a space where people can gently explore painful experiences and look for new ways to cope.

Her background includes living and working across South East Asia and South East London, bringing cultural sensitivity to her work. She has practised in NHS surgeries, prisons and drop-in centres, and has experience supporting people facing drug and alcohol issues and suicidal thoughts in various settings.

Claire describes her work as helping people notice how trauma can affect thinking, behaviour and the body. She pays attention to how untreated trauma may show up as depression, dissociation, substance problems or social withdrawal. In sessions she focuses on helping people recognise their strengths and use them to manage challenges.

Her approach draws on client-centred principles, with elements of attachment, cognitive behavioural techniques, mindfulness and motivational interviewing where helpful. Claire aims for practical discussions and small steps that fit into everyday life. She welcomes conversations about eating and body image alongside other concerns like anxiety, stress and relationships.

People meet her to work through immediate problems and longer-term patterns. She aims to be pragmatic and compassionate, helping people build skills for coping and move towards clearer goals.

How Claire’s approaches translate to online work

Claire commonly draws on client-centred ideas that focus on the person in front of her. This approach means sessions are paced around what feels most important to the client and aims to make it easier to speak about hard topics.

She also uses elements of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help people spot unhelpful thought and behaviour patterns and try small experiments to change them. Mindfulness techniques are used to build awareness of thoughts and bodily sensations and offer practical ways to manage anxiety and stress.

Finding the best approach is a collaborative process. Claire will talk through goals, preferences and what has helped before, then tailor techniques to fit those needs. The first few sessions are usually about understanding what matters most and planning a way forward together.

The therapist's biography does not list specific online formats, so confirm available session types before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy around everyday commitments, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when that suits a busy day. It can also let people try techniques such as CBT homework or guided mindfulness between sessions to support steady progress.