Claire Payne

Claire Payne is an NCPS counsellor who aims to make the first steps into therapy straightforward. She introduces herself warmly and invites people to begin healing at a pace that feels right. Claire practices from Torbay in Devon and offers sessions that can be arranged for remote work across the UK. Her tone is encouraging and practical, helping people take action when they feel stuck.

Claire trained as an NCPS counsellor, and she brings three years of named experience alongside much longer work in social care settings. That background feeds into how she understands trauma and its effects on daily life. She describes her approach as integrative, drawing on person-centred, Gestalt and cognitive behavioural ideas to shape sessions.

In practice Claire adapts to how someone communicates, including using Sand Tray work when words are hard to find. She supports people through workplace stress, burnout and compassion fatigue, and she works with issues linked to domestic and sexual abuse, early years trauma and attachment difficulties. Isolation and loneliness are also listed among her areas of focus.

Sessions can be short term or longer term depending on what a person needs. Claire aims to match pace and style to each individual, helping them rebuild a sense of direction and agency. She works with adults seeking clearer communication, relief from guilt or shame, or practical ways to manage life changes.

If you want to begin, you can start the process via the site’s Start Therapy button and complete a short matching questionnaire before booking a session.

How Claire’s approaches translate to online work

Claire draws on person-centred ideas, which focus on listening carefully and following the pace a person sets; this helps when someone needs space to feel heard and understood. Gestalt work is used to attend to present-moment experience and body awareness, helping people notice patterns that arise in the session and try small changes in the moment.

She also uses cognitive behavioural strategies to identify unhelpful thinking and try practical steps to change behaviour and mood. These techniques are commonly used for stress, anxiety, and adjusting to life transitions, and they can be mixed into sessions as needed.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Claire will discuss which methods feel useful and adapt the mix over time based on your goals and preferences. The decision about techniques is collaborative and reviewed as progress is made.

If you are considering online sessions, please confirm the exact session formats available before booking as these are not specified here. Online work can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. It can also permit different ways of working, such as combining talking with Sand Tray exercises or practical homework, to suit how someone prefers to engage.