Laura Simmonds

I currently have limited availability on Mondays.

I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation. You can ask any questions and make sure I'm the right therapist for you. Just call, email or text and we'll arrange a time to speak.

Are you feeling disorientated, maybe even whiplashed, by a recent change in your life? Are you trying to keep going all the while huge feelings crash around you: shock, anger, sadness, confusion.

At the same time, you might be struggling with feelings of guilt, that you shouldn’t be feeling these things or you should have moved past this already. This might leave you feeling shut down, stuck in the past or struggling to find the way forward.

How Can Therapy Help?

I offer you a place where you’re not alone. A place where you can stop for a moment, let go, cry, rant and grieve. And when you’re ready, to process what’s happened so you can reach a place where you remember the past without it dominating your present.

Wherever you’re at, we’ll go at your pace. I use a blend of talking, learning skills, mindfulness and creativity but we can adapt what we do so it works for you. 

My approach is influenced by Person Centred Therapy, Herman's 3 Stages of Trauma Recovery, Compassion Focused Therapy and Transactional Analysis. 

Free 15 Minute Phone Consultation

Because having a helpful and healing experience is shaped by how well you mesh with your therapist, I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation. You can ask any questions and make sure I'm the right therapist for you.

Our first meeting will be an Assessment. This takes around 50 minutes and it’s an opportunity to get to know each other a little and see if we’ll mesh well. I’ll ask you about yourself and what you’d like from counselling, to make sure I’m the right therapist for you.

If we both decide we’re a good fit, our first session will normally the next week. Before our first session, I’ll send you a welcome pack to read and sign. We’ll also chat this through as part of our first session.

I currently have limited availability on Mondays via Zoom or phone.

I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation. You can ask any questions and make sure I'm the right therapist for you. Just call, email or text and we'll arrange a time to speak.

Are you feeling disorientated, maybe even whiplashed, by a recent change in your life? Are you trying to keep going all the while huge feelings crash around you: shock, anger, sadness, confusion.

At the same time, you might be struggling with feelings of guilt, that you shouldn’t be feeling these things or you should have moved past this already. This might leave you feeling shut down, stuck in the past or struggling to find the way forward.

How can therapy help?

I offer you a place where you’re not alone. A place where you can stop for a moment, let go, cry, rant and grieve. And when you’re ready, to process what’s happened so you can reach a place where you remember the past without it dominating your present.

Wherever you’re at, we’ll go at your pace. I use a blend of talking, learning skills, mindfulness and creativity but we can adapt what we do so it works for you.

Training, qualifications & experience

I qualified with a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling in 2017, awarded by CPCAB. Since then, I’ve completed further training in:

- Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling (Counselling Tutor, 2020)

- Certificate in Third Wave CBT including mindfulness and Compassion Focused Therapy (British Psychological Society, 2018)

- Working Somatically with Trauma and Herman’s 3-Stages of Trauma Recovery, (Paula Biles, 2018)

Experience

In addition to working privately, I also work for Solace Women’s Aid, where I provide therapy to people who have experienced domestic or sexual violence. I've previously worked for Tonbridge Counselling Service and Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers.

Online or Telephone Sessions

I offer counselling sessions via Zoom or Telephone. Both are using safe and secure technology that protects your confidentiality and data.

This means you can access online counselling from the comfort and safety of a place you choose. Like face to face counselling, Zoom allows us to see each other as well as share resources or do creative exercises.

All you’ll need a good internet connection fast enough to stream Netflix or BBC iPlayer.

Free 15-Minute Phone Consultation

Because having a helpful and healing experience is shaped by how well you mesh with your therapist, I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation. You can ask any questions and make sure I'm the right therapist for you. Just email, call or text me and we’ll arrange a time to speak.

Our first meeting will be an Assessment. This takes around 50 minutes and it’s an opportunity to get to know each other a little and see if we’ll mesh well. I’ll ask you about yourself and what you’d like from counselling, to make sure I’m the right therapist for you.

What happens next?

If we both decide we’re a good fit, our first session will normally start the next week. Before our first session, I’ll send you a welcome pack to read and sign. We’ll also chat this through as part of our first session.