Laura Simmonds

I currently have availability on Wednesday evenings 4pm - 7pm and Monday day time between 10am - 2pm 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.

Do you find yourself reliving a memory, as if it were happening now? Do you find your thoughts racing, leaving you feeling disconnected from what’s going on around you? Do you experience flashbacks, nightmares or find it hard to concentrate? Living with trauma, or as a survivor of abuse, might leave you feeling exhausted, trapped and overwhelmed.

But you’re not alone. As a qualified and experienced Therapeutic Counsellor, I can offer you a safe, comfortable and professional space to talk.

How Can Therapy Help?

Learn skills that help you calm and re-orientate yourself when anxiety, trauma and depression overtake you. Feel less alone and better able to connect with those around you. And when you’re ready, begin to process the memories of abuse and start to feel more in control.

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. 

Above all, we’ll take great care to go slowly and learn to spot what triggers your PTSD symptoms or memories of abuse. That way we can try to avoid your triggers as much as possible and support you to ground and re-orientate yourself when they get set off.

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 availability on Wednesday evenings 4pm - 7pm and Monday day time between 10am - 2pm 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.

Do you feel tense all the time, unable to think straight, tummy in knots? At the same time, do you feel a sadness that sucks you down and tells you that you’re not good enough, that this is all too much?

If you're struggling with anxiety and depression, it might feel like you’re working a triple shift: to just function, then to put your ‘I’m ok’ mask on for everyone around you, all the while being drained by the battle inside. Managing all this can be exhausting and isolating.

But you’re not alone. As a qualified and experienced Therapeutic Counsellor, I can offer you a safe, comfortable and professional place to talk.  

How can therapy help?

Come to a space where you’re no longer alone, where you feel safe and understood. Learn skills to quieten those thoughts and calm your body. Understand the underlying causes, grow compassion for yourself, and begin to heal.

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.