About Gillian
Gillian Smith works with people who are struggling with stress, anxiety, grief, low self-esteem and depression. She helps those facing relationship strain, trauma and abuse, anger, career pressures, ADHD and major life changes. Gillian writes simply and directly to make the first step less daunting.
Gillian practises person-centred therapy, which means conversations focus on the person's own experience and feelings. She aims to listen without judgement and to build trust so people can speak openly about what matters to them.
How Gillian works
Sessions are tailored to each person's needs rather than following a fixed script. She also draws on psychodynamic ideas to look at patterns that repeat across relationships and life choices. This approach can help uncover how past experiences influence current behaviour and emotions.
Gillian uses these insights to help people make different choices in day-to-day life. Gillian has four years of professional counselling experience and also brings many more years of wider professional work supporting people in other roles. She retrained in 2019 and holds an Advanced Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling in addition to listed credentials BACP and NCPS.
These are noted exactly as supplied. Sessions can focus on practical coping skills as well as on understanding feelings and past patterns. Gillian aims to work collaboratively to identify small steps that fit into real life.
She frames therapy as a process people shape together.
Gillian lists 2 ways of working on the entry:
What Gillian works with
The areas below are the ones Gillian selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Career difficulties
- Communication problems
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Family conflicts
- Guilt and shame
- Relationship issues
- Self-love
- Trauma and abuse
Training and background
| Registers | BACP, NCPS |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 4 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How Gillian's approaches work online
Client-centred therapy focuses on the person's experience and feelings. The counsellor listens closely and reflects what they hear so the person can feel understood and explore what matters most. This approach helps with anxiety, low self-esteem, grief and everyday stresses.Psychodynamic therapy looks at patterns that repeat in relationships and life choices. It helps people see how past experiences may shape current reactions and then try different ways of responding. This can be useful for relationship problems, attachment concerns and deeper emotional wounds.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Gillian will discuss goals and preferences and together they will try methods that suit the person's needs. That collaborative process helps shape each session and any practical steps to try between appointments.
Online therapy offers practical flexibility. Video calls let people use visual cues and longer sessions, phone work can fit into a short break or when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text-based messaging is useful for quick check-ins or for people who prefer writing. These options make it easier to book sessions around work, study or family routines and support regular contact without travel.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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