Sarah Smith, BACP

Sarah Smith welcomes people who are feeling overwhelmed, stuck or unsure how to move forward. She writes plainly and listens carefully to what matters to each person, then helps them find practical ways to cope and grow. Sarah is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP, and draws on four years of mental health experience.

Before training as a counsellor, Sarah worked in social care with people who had learning disabilities and in community support roles. She has also worked in a private trauma clinic and within the NHS since 2019. This range of experience shaped her focus on empowerment and informed choice.

Sarah takes a trauma-informed, person-centred approach. That means she starts from respect for each person and believes people know their own story best. In sessions she focuses on building a trusting connection and understanding the real effects of someone’s experiences.

She supports people working through anxiety, stress, depression and mood difficulties, and helps with self-esteem, identity and life changes. Sarah also addresses feelings of guilt and shame, loneliness, questions about life purpose, and women’s issues.

Therapy with her is collaborative. Sessions move at a pace set by the person seeking help. Sarah aims to help people recognise strengths, try manageable changes, and build everyday coping skills that fit their life.

Therapeutic approaches and remote sessions that fit your life

Sarah uses a trauma-informed approach that focuses on understanding how difficult events have affected daily life and emotions. This helps when past experiences continue to cause anxiety, low mood or difficulty trusting oneself. She also works in a person-centred way, which means sessions centre on what matters to the individual and move at their chosen pace. That style suits people who want a respectful, collaborative space to talk things through.

Finding the right way of working is part of therapy. Sarah will talk with each person about goals, preferences and what has helped or not helped before. Together they decide which approaches to try and adjust the plan as things change, so the work stays practical and relevant.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text messaging to make counselling more flexible. Video calls work well when seeing facial cues matters; phone sessions can be useful when bandwidth is limited or for a shorter check-in. Live chat and text let people write when that feels easier or fits a busy day. These options make it simpler to fit therapy around work, family and other commitments while still working with registered or accredited professionals.