Claire Austen, NCPS

Claire Austen is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom who helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief and major life changes. She aims to offer a calm and warm environment where people can talk through painful feelings and consider next steps. Claire brings five years of clinical experience and a practical outlook to conversations about mental health.

She draws mainly on a person-centred or client-centred way of working, which means she listens closely and follows what matters most to each person. Claire also uses tools from cognitive behavioural therapy, including practical exercises and strategies to manage mood and unhelpful thinking patterns. This combination lets clients both be heard and take small steps forward.

Her background includes a degree and counselling qualifications alongside a diploma in CBT. Claire reports experience supporting people with relationship problems, parenting stresses, addiction concerns, anger and self‑esteem issues, and a wide range of family and attachment matters. She also works with people who identify as LGBT and with those dealing with trauma and abuse.

Sessions focus on what the person wants to explore. Claire aims to help people notice patterns, try manageable changes, and build coping skills for everyday life. She accepts international clients and offers conversations in English.

People often come to Claire for help during midlife transitions, bereavement, or when old patterns feel stuck. She encourages visitors to consider whether her straightforward, listening-first approach matches what they need before they book.

How Claire’s approach adapts for online work

The client-centred approach focuses on listening closely and following what matters most to the person. In practice this means the counsellor reflects feelings, asks simple questions, and helps the person make sense of where they are emotionally. This style is useful for people facing big changes or midlife reassessment who need space to be heard.

Cognitive behavioural therapy offers practical tools such as planning small experiments, tracking thoughts and testing unhelpful beliefs. These tasks translate well to remote sessions because they can be discussed together and practised between meetings to build everyday skills.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Claire will talk with the person about their needs, goals and preferences and then decide together which methods to use. That collaborative process means the plan can change as progress is made.

The original biography does not list specific session formats, so please confirm which formats are offered before booking. Many people value online counselling for fitting sessions into busy lives, making shorter check‑ins manageable, and avoiding travel time. Remote sessions can also make it easier to keep therapy going when routines change.