Clare Merchant, BACP

Clare Merchant is a counsellor who uses a client-centred approach to support people through hard times. She draws on three years of experience and focuses on listening, understanding and offering practical ways to move forward.

She aims to make sessions relaxed and straightforward. Clare helps people talk through stress, anxiety, grief, relationship concerns and issues with self-esteem. She also works with people facing addiction, sleep problems, anger, career strain and compassion fatigue.

Clare adapts her way of working to each person. She uses worksheets alongside conversation to help identify what is causing low wellbeing. This helps turn worries into small, manageable steps towards the goals a person sets.

Her practice covers a wide range of family and life changes, including divorce and separation, blended family issues, fatherhood concerns and caregiving strain. Clare also supports people dealing with body image, fertility and cancer-related distress, and feelings of guilt, shame or abandonment.

Clare holds BACP, which is recorded here as provided. Sessions are conducted in English and she works with people in the United Kingdom and international clients. To start, she asks new clients to complete a short questionnaire so sessions can be matched to individual needs.

Client-centred care and online counselling

Clare's main approach is client-centred therapy, which means the conversation focuses on the person's own experience. The counsellor listens closely, reflects feelings and helps someone make sense of what matters most to them. This approach is often helpful for anxiety, stress, low mood and relationship concerns.

She also pairs conversation with practical worksheets and collaborative planning. These tools help people break big problems into smaller steps, such as coping strategies for sleep or managing strong emotions after loss. Clare uses these methods to support clearer goals and steady progress.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Clare will talk through goals, preferences and what feels most useful, and then agree a way of working that suits the person. This is a collaborative process rather than a fixed prescription.

The biography does not list specific online session formats, so please confirm the available options before booking. Online counselling can make it easier to fit sessions around work and family life, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. Many people find remote sessions help keep therapy consistent during busy periods.