Claire Phillips, BACP

Claire Phillips is a BACP counsellor with ten years' professional experience. She creates a calm space where people can talk about painful feelings and work through difficult moments. Claire aims to help clients notice strengths and small changes that build into better day-to-day coping.

Claire practised in South East Asia for over ten years and has lived and worked in South East London for more than twenty years. That background informs a culturally aware way of working and an openness to different life experiences.

Her work often includes people facing trauma, addiction and self-harm, and she has experience in NHS surgeries, prisons and drop-in centres. She has also supported children in care-home settings and young adults who presented with suicidal thoughts, self-injury and substance use. These roles shaped how she recognises the effects of trauma on thinking, behaviour and the body.

In sessions she draws on person-centred values while also using cognitive behavioural tools and mindfulness practices when helpful. Claire describes her approach as warm and non-judgemental, focused on helping people understand patterns and try new ways of coping.

People come to her for a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, stress, relationship and intimacy worries, grief, eating and sleeping difficulties, ADHD and issues around identity and self‑esteem. She encourages practical steps alongside reflective work to support ongoing self-discovery and healing.

How therapeutic approaches shape online work

Claire combines person-centred listening with cognitive behavioural techniques to help people notice unhelpful patterns and try practical changes. Person-centred work focuses on empathic listening and helping someone feel heard, which can be useful for worries about relationships, identity and self‑esteem. Cognitive behavioural approaches look at the links between thoughts, feelings and actions and offer simple exercises to change behaviour and mood.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Claire will discuss goals and preferences with each person and will adapt methods as therapy progresses. That collaborative process helps decide whether to use more reflective person-centred sessions, practical CBT exercises, or a mix of both.

The original biography does not specify which session formats are offered online, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel, and allow shorter check-ins or phone conversations when that suits someone better. It can also let people access a counsellor who understands different cultural backgrounds and complex histories without needing to change their day too much.