Claire Debney

I offer online and face-to-face counselling. I work weekdays and offer daytime and early-evening appointments.

I’m taking on new clients from early November 2026. You can arrange a free 20-minute introductory conversation through my website or by contacting me directly through this profile.

Sometimes you know something isn’t quite right, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. Sometimes you know what’s wrong. Sometimes you don't. And that's ok. Counselling can give you space to make sense of things at a pace that works for you. 

Life can change in an instant, or gradually, almost without you noticing. You may be living with the illness or death of someone important to you. You may be coming to terms with the end of a relationship, questioning your career, adjusting to a life transition, or carrying responsibilities that have quietly become too much to hold on your own. Sometimes there isn’t one defining event at all. There is simply a feeling that things aren’t the way you want them to be.

You may have reached a point where you think, I can’t keep doing things in quite the same way, but you’re not sure what needs to change.

I offer a space to slow things down, make sense of what’s happening and explore what might be underneath. You don’t need to arrive with an explanation or even a clear idea of what you want to achieve.

My particular areas of interest are grief, bereavement and loss, particularly the less visible losses that can accompany separation, relationship change, career changes and other life transitions. Loss isn’t only about losing a person. It can be the loss of a relationship, a role, a future you imagined, or a sense of who you once were.

I also work with work-related stress and burnout, perfectionism, loneliness, relationship difficulties and the emotional impact of infertility and pregnancy-related experiences.

I don’t believe there is a hierarchy in how difficult life can feel. What matters is what something means to you.

I work relationally and integratively. That means I draw on different therapeutic approaches rather than believing that one model works for everyone. I won’t try to fit you into a particular model, and I won’t tell you what you should do.

We’ll work together to understand what’s going on for you, at a pace that feels manageable. Sometimes therapy is about looking backwards and understanding where something comes from. Sometimes it’s about making sense of what is happening now. Sometimes it’s about finding enough space to work out what comes next.

The relationship between us matters. I want you to feel that you can be honest, especially about the things that may be difficult to say out loud. I’ll listen carefully, ask questions when they might help, and give you space when you need it. But you remain the expert in your own life.

Before becoming a therapist, I spent more than twenty years in the corporate world, first as an in-house lawyer and then as a consultant. I’m also a qualified coach and have been coaching for over ten years, supporting people with career and leadership questions, personal development and navigating change.

Alongside my private practice, I volunteer as a bereavement counsellor with Cruse Bereavement Support and am a Trustee of Richmond Borough Mind. I bring my professional experience, counselling training and life experience into the room, while recognising that the work is about you.

Taking the first step can feel like the hardest part, so I try to make the process straightforward.

We begin with a free 20-minute conversation, online or by phone. We can talk about what brings you to counselling, what you’re looking for and whether I might be the right therapist for you. There is no obligation to continue.

If we decide to work together, we’ll agree how we’d like to approach the work, and I’ll send you everything you need before your first session. 

Sessions are available weekly or fortnightly and can be 50 or 75 minutes, depending on what feels most appropriate for you and the work we’re doing. 

You don’t need to prepare or arrive with everything worked out. You simply need to come as you are.