Claire Sims

Claire Sims is a counsellor with 20 years of experience working in the United Kingdom. She began training in 2000 and started seeing clients in 2005, and she works in a way that aims to put people in control of their own progress. Claire is registered with BACP, and she supports people with issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship concerns and anger.

Her background includes roles in helplines, hospice bereavement support, and several community counselling services. Claire has worked in settings addressing sexual violence and domestic violence and has supported people through the criminal justice process. She has also run groups for food and mood and for anger management.

Claire trained in psychodynamic counselling and describes her current practice as integrative. She draws on psychodynamic ideas alongside practical techniques gathered over many years. Sessions focus on what matters to the person in front of her and move at a pace that suits them.

She has experience coordinating services, developing outreach and telephone support, and training other counsellors to work online and by phone. Claire has worked with people affected by dementia, post-natal depression, and emotional instability, and she has managed counselling services in multiple organisations.

In sessions she aims to be sensitive and respectful, using a trauma-informed stance and collaborative approach. Her style is client-led: she listens, helps people make sense of patterns, and supports practical steps to cope with life changes and emotional challenges.

How Claire Uses Psychodynamic Ideas Online

Psychodynamic therapy looks at patterns that repeat over time and how early relationships can shape current feelings and reactions. It often helps when someone wants to understand why they respond to stress, anger or relationship problems in particular ways. Claire uses these ideas to help people notice recurring patterns and to make different choices.

She also draws on integrative work, combining psychodynamic understanding with practical tools gathered from years of counselling. That means sessions can include talking about past experiences and practising small, concrete changes to daily routines or coping strategies. Together, therapist and client decide which mix feels most useful.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapy process. Claire will work collaboratively to match methods to a person’s needs, goals and preferences, and she will adjust the balance of talking and practical work as the process unfolds.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so please confirm the current online and remote options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when a brief update helps. It can also accommodate people who prefer not to attend a clinic in person, while keeping the same therapeutic focus on understanding patterns and building coping skills.