Claire Phillips , BACP

Claire Phillips is a person-centred counsellor with over 10 years of professional experience and registration with the BACP, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, which indicates professional membership in the field. She creates a therapeutic space where people can explore difficult thoughts and feelings at their own pace, encouraging openness to the complex emotions that often accompany life changes, relationships and trauma.

Her practice brings together compassion and clinical understanding to support people facing a wide range of concerns, including stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, depression, relationship and family problems, grief, intimacy issues, eating and sleeping difficulties, parenting challenges, anger, bipolar disorder, and ADHD. Claire also works with issues such as abandonment, attachment difficulties, body image, caregiver stress, commitment and communication problems, domestic violence, and drug and alcohol addiction.

Claire’s professional journey has included living and working in South East Asia for more than a decade and over twenty years based in South East London, which informs a culturally sensitive approach. Over the last ten years she has worked across NHS surgeries, prisons and drop-in centres, and has supported children and young adults in care settings, often working with complex presentations such as suicidal ideation, self-harm and substance misuse.

She draws on an understanding of how trauma can affect the mind and body, and on therapeutic collaboration to help people identify strengths and build practical ways to manage challenges. Claire aims to facilitate healing and ongoing self-discovery so individuals can develop new perspectives and greater resilience.

Therapeutic approaches and online support

Claire integrates client-centred and attachment-informed approaches with practical cognitive tools. Client-centred therapy focuses on creating an accepting, non-directive environment where the person leads the pace of exploration and the therapist reflects and supports personal insight - this approach is helpful for building self-esteem, improving communication, and processing emotional pain. Attachment-based work looks at how early relationships shape expectations and patterns in adult life and relationships; it can be especially useful for people dealing with abandonment, attachment issues, commitment challenges, or difficulties in close relationships. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, used alongside these approaches, offers structured techniques to identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours, which can assist with anxiety, depression, addictions and sleep or eating concerns.

Choosing the right mix of approaches is part of the therapeutic process and Claire works collaboratively to tailor methods to each person's needs, goals and preferences. The therapist and client discuss what feels most useful and adjust the plan over time to find the best fit.

Online therapy with Claire can take place via video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging, offering flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make it easier to access licensed professionals from different locations and to continue therapy through life transitions, travel or times when in-person meetings are not practical.