Claire Sims

Claire Sims is a fully qualified counsellor practising in the United Kingdom with 20 years of counselling and professional experience.

She supports people with a wide range of concerns including stress and anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, sexual violence, domestic violence, grief and loss, self-esteem, addictions, family and intimacy-related issues, eating and sleeping problems, parenting challenges, anger, career matters, bipolar disorder, depression and coping with life changes. She also offers coaching, support for compassion fatigue and ADHD. Claire is a female therapist, identifies as older, and works in a non-religious way.

Claire describes her work as client-led, conducted with respect, sensitivity and compassion. She adopts a trauma-informed approach and moves at the client’s pace, working collaboratively so people feel supported and in control. She acknowledges the courage it takes to begin therapy and aims to create a supportive environment for that first step.

Her counselling training began in 2000 after a career as a hairdresser and time as a stay-at-home mum, when she sought a different direction in life. That early training led to a deeper personal and professional journey, and she began seeing clients in 2005. Trained initially in psychodynamic counselling, she now practises as an integrative counsellor, drawing on a wide range of skills and experience to respond to each person’s needs.

Over two decades she has worked across many services and roles. Her experience includes working as a counsellor at Suffolk Rape Crisis (SRC) supporting people affected by many forms of sexual violence; serving as Counselling Coordinator and Services Manager at SRC; establishing an outreach service and launching a video counselling service there; and training counsellors for online and telephone work. She has been a bereavement counsellor within St Elizabeth Hospice’s emotional wellbeing service and has supported patients and families. Claire has worked with Clarity Wellbeing Services facilitating groups and providing counselling to new mothers and those with postnatal depression, acted as a support worker for people with traits of or a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder or Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, and has delivered KUF Personality Disorder Awareness Training.

Her roles have also included counselling coordinator for the Suffolk Mind counselling service, setting up and working on Suffolk Mind’s emotional support helpline, launching a dementia counselling service and a telephone counselling service, and working as an IAPT counsellor. She has provided counselling at First Stop (Braintree), Halstead Mind and Progress Counselling Essex, facilitated ‘Food & Mood’ and ‘Anger Management’ groups, served as helpline supervisor and coordinator for Maldon (Essex) Mind’s night helpline, and worked as a service coordinator for a telephone service supporting elderly people in North Essex.

Claire integrates these varied experiences into a flexible, person-centred practice that aims to help people reclaim control and make positive changes in their lives.