About me
I'm Claire Smith, an accredited member of the BACP and a psychodynamic therapist with over ten years experience working privately and within the NHS. I work with adults who may be feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or who simply want to understand themselves better and on a deeper level.
How I got here
I was planning to begin nurse training when a knee injury unexpectedly changed my life and direction.
While I was recovering, and it was a long recovery, I decided to try a counselling course, initially just to see what it was like. At the time, I assumed I would return to nursing at some point in the future. Psychodynamic counselling training involves undertaking your own personal therapy, and over those three years of therapy something actually shifted for me. I began to experience first-hand just how powerful it can be to feel heard, understood, and held in mind. That's when I realised how meaningful this work is, and my interest in psychodynamic therapy really began.
Before training as a therapist, I worked as a healthcare assistant and ward clerk for the NHS. Looking back, I can see that listening to people had always been a natural part of who I am, taking time with patients, hearing their stories, and being alongside them in difficult moments. Counselling gave that instinct a deeper understanding and a place to grow.
My approach
I am a psychodynamic therapist, which means I am interested in understanding the whole picture, not just what's happening on the surface. Often, the way we feel in the present can be connected to earlier experiences. The patterns we develop in relationships, and the way we view ourselves, can shape how we respond to difficulties later in life.
In our sessions, I won't tell you what to do or give you exercises to complete. Instead, I will listen carefully and thoughtfully, and we'll explore together whatever feels important to you. Over time, this can help bring greater awareness to patterns, feelings, and experiences that may not have been fully understood before.
Some people come to therapy with something specific they want to work through and stay for a set number of sessions. Others prefer a more open-ended process that allows for deeper exploration. There's no single right way to approach therapy, and we can think together about what feels most helpful for you.
I believe most people already have the answers. They just need the right space to find them. My job isn't to fix you. It's to help you understand yourself well enough that things start to make more sense.
Helping people help themselves is how I'd sum it up. That's what psychodynamic therapy is really about: building the kind of self-awareness that stays with you long after therapy ends.
Training and accreditation
I am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), membership number 216379. Accredited membership means I meet the BACP's standards for training, practice, and ongoing professional development. You can verify my registration on the BACP register.
I completed a BACP-accredited course in psychodynamic counselling in 2015, validated by the University of Surrey. Since then, I have been practising for over a decade, working both privately and within NHS settings. I continue to develop my practice through regular supervision and training, in line with the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.
Want to find out more?
If anything on this page resonated, or if you just want to know more about how therapy works, I'd be happy to hear from you. There's no obligation - just a conversation.