About Ian
Ian Smith helps people who are feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or lost. He is a counsellor with ten years' experience working across mental health and social services. He listens without judgment and aims to make the first conversations simple and clear.
People often come to him for stress, anxiety, addiction, depression and relationship concerns. He favours practical, down-to-earth sessions. He starts from where a person is and builds on what already helps.
How Ian works
That can mean learning new ways to manage emotions, setting boundaries, or finding routines that reduce stress. He also supports people with issues such as ADHD, grief, trauma and identity-related concerns. Ian draws on a mix of approaches to suit each person.
He uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people clarify values and act on them. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is used to spot unhelpful thoughts and try different behaviours. Attachment-based ideas inform work on close relationships and intimacy.
His background includes work in social services and mental health settings, where he has helped people from varied backgrounds and life situations. That experience informs a practical, compassionate style in sessions. He explains tools in plain language and focuses on what will make day-to-day life better.
Sessions are offered in English and can be held online by video, phone, live chat or messaging. Ian accepts clients from the United Kingdom and internationally. To begin, people complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule their first session.
Ian lists 13 ways of working on the entry:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
What Ian works with
The areas below are the ones Ian selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Traumatic brain injury
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | BACP |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 10 |
| 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
Therapeutic approaches for online work
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice what matters to them and take small steps in that direction, even when feelings are uncomfortable. It suits people juggling stress, life change or low mood. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviours to reduce anxiety and depression symptoms. It is useful for problem-focused goals and learning practical coping skills. Attachment-Based Therapy explores how early relationship patterns shape current bonds, helping with intimacy, attachment issues and relationship stresses.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will talk through options and adapt methods to fit the person's goals, preferences and life situation. Clients are invited to try things and feedback what helps so the work can be adjusted together.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat or messaging to suit different needs. Video sessions allow face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone calls can be easier when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text-based messaging suit shorter check-ins, ongoing reflections between sessions or people who prefer writing. These options add flexibility so therapy can fit around work, family and daily life.
Start online instead of waiting
Our partner service asks a few questions about what you are looking for and matches you with a therapist for sessions from home.
Book with IanWe will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.
Common questions
What concerns does he help with?
What is his therapy style like?
What experience does he bring?
What credentials and location apply?
Which languages and international options are available?
In what formats can sessions take place?
How much do sessions cost?
How do I begin working with him?
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.
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you. Entries are not assessed or endorsed by this directory.
Other entries for stress, anxiety
Supportive LCSW helping people build strength and clarity
Practical, trauma-aware therapy for everyday life
Practical, relational therapy for life transitions