Claire Payne, NCPS

Claire Payne is an NCPS-registered counsellor and qualified trainer offering trauma-informed therapeutic support from private practice in Torbay, Devon. She works with people locally face to face and provides remote sessions across the United Kingdom. Claire describes an integrative approach that blends Person-Centred listening, Gestalt exploration, and cognitive behavioral techniques to tailor care to each person’s needs. She is also able to offer Sand Tray work for clients who find visual or nonverbal expression easier than words. The NCPS credential indicates professional registration with a recognized counselling body.

With three years of practice as a registered counsellor, Claire works with both short-term and longer-term clients and adapts session pace and style to support individual healing. Her specialties include family concerns, trauma and abuse recovery, self-esteem rebuilding, career-related stress, and compassion fatigue. She also supports people dealing with attachment and abandonment issues, caregiver stress, communication and control problems, divorce and separation, guilt and shame, impulsivity, isolation, life-purpose questions, midlife transitions, and the effects of narcissistic relationships. Claire emphasizes flexible, client-centred care that meets practical needs while addressing the emotional impact of early years and traumatic experiences.

Integrative approaches for effective online support

Claire uses a blend of therapeutic methods adapted for remote work to support emotional recovery and personal growth. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and gently challenging unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors; it is commonly used to address anxiety, low mood, and stress-related problems by developing practical skills and coping strategies. Person-Centred work emphasizes empathetic listening and an accepting therapeutic relationship, helping clients explore self-esteem, life purpose, and personal values at their own pace. Gestalt techniques invite present-moment awareness and experiential exercises to help people process difficult emotions and regain a sense of personal agency.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Claire collaborates with each person to determine which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences. Together they review progress and adjust techniques as therapy unfolds to ensure the best possible match.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, offering flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These formats make it easier to maintain continuity of care while balancing work, family, or caregiving responsibilities, and allow clients across the United Kingdom to access support without travel.