Dr Claire Bloxsom
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
I’m currently operating a waiting list for clients and clinical supervisees (July 2026)
Hello — I’m Claire. If you’re here looking for a psychotherapist, I want first to acknowledge the courage and care that goes into that search. Choosing therapy is a significant emotional and financial investment, and one of the most important factors is finding someone who feels like a good fit. For me, the quality of the therapeutic relationship — and how we work with that relationship — is central to meaningful and lasting change.
I’m an experienced UKCP registered/accredited Integrative Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor, and Trainer offering a relational, reflective, and collaborative way of working. I see therapy as a shared process, shaped by who you are, what you bring, and what emerges between us.
Professional Background & Training
My core clinical training was completed at the Metanoia Institute in London, where I undertook the MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy (UKCP-accredited). This was a five-year postgraduate training, including four years of mandated personal psychotherapy ( I chose to do more, at 13 years), and represents an extensive and rigorous professional preparation.
My training aligns with Column C of the ScopEd framework, indicating the highest level of training and scope of practice.
I also hold an Enhanced DBS certificate.
You can read more about the Metanoia training here:
https://www.metanoia.ac.uk/programmes/psychotherapy/msc-in-integrative-psychotherapy/
Professional Clinical Registration & Accreditation
- Registered and Accredited Psychotherapist with UKCP (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy)
- Senior Accredited Registrant with NCPS (National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society)
- Qualified Clinical Supervisor (UKCP/L7/on list of supervisors)
You can find me on the following professional registers:
UKCP: https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/about-ukcp/our-register/
NCPS: https://ncps.com/counselling-directory
My Approach to Therapy
I work with adults (18+) in Nottingham, offering both face-to-face and online (Zoom) sessions.
At the heart of my work is a relational and integrative approach, shaped by the belief that we are formed — and transformed — in relationship. Therapy is not something I do to you, but something we create together.
I pay close attention to how your thoughts, feelings, bodily experience, relationships, identity, culture, creativity, and wider social context interact. This includes:
- emotional and relational patterns
- the body and nervous system
- meaning-making and existential questions
- socio-political and cultural influences - power and oppression.
- creativity, symbolism, and metaphor.
I’m interested in how we internalise messages from the world — consciously and unconsciously — through family, culture, media, identity, and lived experience. Some of these messages support us; others can leave us feeling conflicted, ashamed, or disconnected. Therapy offers space to gently explore and re-work these patterns.
I work collaboratively and actively, offering reflection, feedback, and suggestions that we can think about together. While I won’t tell you what to do, I aim to support your personal agency, understanding, and empowerment.
Ways of Working
I have experience of short-, medium-, and long-term therapy, though I most commonly work medium to long-term (six months to several years).
I’m open to working creatively and may include:
- attention to bodily sensation, breath, and movement
- metaphor and imagery
- music (as listener or creator)
- symbolic or non-verbal forms of expression
The therapy relationship itself is an important part of the work, and we may reflect together on what happens between us as a way of gaining insight into patterns in your wider life.
Training, qualifications & experience
Specific Clinical Counselling and Psychotherapy qualifications:
- Certificate of Higher Education in Psychodynamic Counselling (with Distinction) (Vaughan College, University of Leicester)
- Clinical Diploma in Integrative Psychodynamic Counselling (Metanoia Institute, London)
- PG Clinical Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy (L7 postgraduate- Metanoia Institute, London)
- MSc. Integrative Psychotherapy (L7 with Distinction) (Metanoia Institute, London)
- Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma (with Distinction) in Clinical Supervision (UKCP accred- Scarborough Counselling and Psychotherapy Institute).
Other Key Qualifications
- PhD - Psychology (University of Leicester)
- Postgrad. Cert in Higher Education PGCHE Teaching (NTU)
- BSc.(Hons) Psychology (UCL)
Additional Training & Interests
I have a strong interest in the body aspects of mental health and have undertaken additional training in this area, including: Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (Level 1) EMDR (Levels 1, 2 & 3), and Body Breath Energy approaches (Nick Totton’s embodied relational therapy approach). More recently, I have been completing some CPD in IFSiEMDR - which is EMDR informed by the Internal Family Systems approach. My approach to EMDR is therefore attachment focused and with an assumption that we have different parts of us who make us who we are.
Please note that EMDR may require longer sessions and therefore might sit at the higher end of my fee range.
I receive regular clinical supervision, as required by UKCP and NCPS, and access specialist EMDR and IFS and attachment informed EMDR supervision when relevant.
Areas of Experience
I have particular experience working with:
- anxiety, low mood, stress, and burnout
- shame, self-criticism, and low self-esteem
- identity, culture, and belonging
- chronic illness and health-related anxiety
- neurodivergence (ADHD, AuDHD, autistic traits)
- LGBTQIA+ clients and gender/sexual diversity
- men’s mental health
- people living with HIV
- musicians and music-industry professionals
Music & Mental Health
Music is both personal and professional to me and I have been involved in independently released music projects since 2021. I’m particularly interested in its role in emotional regulation, creativity, and wellbeing, and I also understand the pressures on independent musicians in the music industry.
Alongside my private practice, I collaborate with Tonic Music for Mental Health and am an Associate Psychotherapist with Music and Mind, supporting musicians and those working across the music industry, such as music agents and managers.
Academic & Teaching Background
I hold a PhD in Psychology (University of Leicester) and have over 20 years’ experience in higher education, teaching psychology and psychotherapy at undergraduate, postgraduate, Master’s, and doctoral levels.
I currently work with the New School of Counselling and Psychotherapy as a Teaching Consultant and Research Supervisor, and have previously worked at the University of Warwick training psychotherapists. I have also acted as an external examiner for UKCP accreditation vivas at the Metanoia Institute.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Alongside my private practice, I’ve worked across therapeutic, academic, and training settings for many years. I have long-standing experience supporting people living with HIV, having worked both as a Buddy in London in the 1990s and later as an independent counsellor within an HIV charity.
I’ve lectured in psychology at undergraduate and postgraduate level, trained counselling and psychotherapy practitioners, and acted as an external examiner for UKCP Psychotherapist accreditation at the Metanoia Institute.
I’m connected to a number of professional communities that reflect my relational and creative orientation, including the Metanoia Institute, Tonic Music for Mental Health, Pink Therapy, the Black African and Asian Therapy Network, The Relational School, the Association for Person-Centred Creative Arts, and the New School of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£70.00 - £105.00
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
Fees & Practical Information
Per session fees range: £70 – £105
(EMDR or extended sessions may be at the higher end)
Payment: Bank transfer, paid per session or in agreed monthly blocks.
If availability allows, I offer a free 30–45 minute Zoom consultation to get a sense of each other and assess initial suitability.
Cancellations:
A minimum of three days’ notice is required. Late cancellations may be charged at the full rate. For face-to-face sessions, I’m unable to reschedule with fewer than three days’ notice due to room-hire agreements.
When I work
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Further information
Premises
For face-to-face work. I work in the Park area of Nottingham. There is access to a toilet and there is free parking. I work on both the ground floor or on the second floor. Please note due to the old building structure I am sorry that there is no lift at these premises.
Other qualifications and interests:
I have 20 years’ experience in university teaching and academia (psychology, then psychotherapy).
I’m a member of the ‘Rainbow’ Special Interest Group (R-Sig) within the UKCP.
Some academic publications.
Bloxsom, C. & Jaspal, R. (2025). “Our voice as a legacy”: Trauma, resilience and post-traumatic growth among people living with long-term HIV. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 25(20), e70027 Accessible to read here: https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/asap.70027?af=R
Jaspal, R., & Bloxsom, C. (2023). Identity processes, stressors and mental health in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic sexual minorities. In J. Semlyen & P. Rohleder (eds.), Sexual Minorities and Mental Health: Current Perspectives and New Directions (pp. 107-133). London: Palgrave Macmillan. accessible here: https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/42241377/Jaspal_and_Bloxsom_chapter.pdf
Jaspal, R., Wignall, L., & Bloxsom, C. (2023). Sexual health promotion among university students: A psychological perspective. In B. Taverner (Ed.), Sex Education Research: A Look Between the Sheets (pp. 197-208). New York: Routledge.
Bloxsom, C.A.J., Kibowski, F, Sumich, A., Firth, J., Egan, V., & Heym, N. (2021). Dark Shadow of the Self: How the Dark Triad and Empathy impact Parental and Intimate Adult Attachment Relationships in Women. Forensic Science International: Mind & Law, 2, 100045. Accessible here https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666353821000023?via%3Dihub
Fino, E., Jaspal, R., Lopes, B., Wignall, L., & Bloxsom, C. (2021). The Sexual Risk Behaviors Scale (SRBS): Development & Validation in a University Student Sample in the UK. Evaluation & the Health Professions, 44(2), 152-160. Accessible here: https://doi.org/10.1177/01632787211003950
Heym, N., Kibowski, F., Bloxsom, C.A.J., Blanchard, A., Harper, A., Wallace, L., Firth, J. and Sumich, A., (2021). The Dark Empath: characterising dark traits in the presence of empathy. Personality and Individual Differences, 169: 110172. ISSN 0191-8869
Heym, N., Firth, J., Kibowski, F., Sumich, A., Egan, V. and Bloxsom, C.A.J., (2019). Empathy at the heart of darkness: empathy deficits that bind the dark triad and those that mediate indirect relational aggression. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10: 95. ISSN 1664-0640
