Claire Sims, BACP

Claire Sims is a BACP-credentialed counsellor practising in the United Kingdom with twenty years of professional experience. She trained in psychodynamic counselling and now works in an integrative way, drawing on that psychodynamic foundation alongside other approaches to tailor support to each person. BACP refers to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, a UK professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists.

Claire takes a client-led, trauma informed stance, working at a pace that suits each individual and emphasising collaboration and respect. Her practice supports people facing a wide range of concerns including stress and anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, sexual violence, domestic violence, grief and loss, self-esteem issues, addictions, parenting and family problems, eating and sleeping difficulties, bipolar and depression, and challenges tied to life changes and career. She also works with issues such as attachment and abandonment, commitment and intimacy concerns, isolation and loneliness, and compassion fatigue.

Her counselling journey began in 2000 after a career as a hairdresser and time as a stay-at-home mother led her to retrain. She started seeing clients in 2005 and has since held roles across diverse settings and services. These include counselling at Suffolk Rape Crisis - addressing many forms of sexual violence and supporting women through criminal justice processes - and coordinating and managing services there, where she helped set up outreach and video counselling offerings and trained counsellors to work online and by telephone.

Claire has provided bereavement counselling with St Elizabeth Hospice and supported patients and families, offered counselling for new mothers and postpartum depression through Clarity Wellbeing Services, worked as a support worker with services for people with traits of or diagnoses of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, and delivered training in personality disorder awareness. She has coordinated counselling services for Suffolk Mind, launched emotional support helplines and dementia counselling services, supervised helplines, and worked within IAPT and other community counselling organisations. She has facilitated groups such as Food & Mood and Anger Management and supported services aimed at reducing loneliness among older adults.

Across these roles Claire has developed a broad skill set and practical experience she brings into therapeutic work, always aiming to support people to feel more in control, understood, and able to make the changes they want. Her approach emphasises sensitivity, compassion, and partnership with each person she works alongside.