Laura Simmonds


Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
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
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: numbness, anger, sadness, confusion, anxiety, depression.
At the same time, you might be struggling with 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.
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?
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.
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.
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 is a good internet connection fast enough to stream Netflix or BBC iPlayer.
What to expect in your first session?
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.
Training, qualifications & experience
I trained as a counsellor after my own experience of seeing a therapist. I began the journey of counselling thinking ‘How on earth can this help me?’ But, over time, it became a live-giving and healing experience – an experience I’m passionate about offering to others.
Qualifications
I qualified with a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling in 2017, awarded by CPCAB. Since then, I’ve completed further training in:
- Polyvagal Skills and Supervision Group (Deb Dana, PESI, 2024)
- Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors (Janina Fisher, PESI, 2023)
- Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling (Counselling Tutor, 2020)
- Certificate in Third Wave CBT including mindfulness, Compassion Focused Therapy, Dialectic Behavioural Therapy, and ACT (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.
BACP
I am a Registered Member of BACP (no. 380846) and abide by their Code of Ethics.
Your Data
Because I collect and hold your data, I am registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). To find out more about my Privacy Policy, please go to laurasimmondstherapy.uk/privacy-policy.
Member organisations

BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£55.00 per session
Additional information
I availability on Wednesday at 2pm from the beginning of March. I offer sessions via Zoom or phone.
I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation so you can ask any questions and make sure I'm the right therapist for you. Just send me a message and we’ll arrange a time to speak.
When I work
Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Morning | |||||||
Afternoon | |||||||
Evening | |||||||
Night |
I currently have availability on Wednesday at 2pm from the beginning of March. I offer sessions via Zoom or phone.