This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
My name is Laura Smart, and I am a qualified Trauma-Informed Practitioner. This means I fully understand trauma’s role in mental health and how it can underpin and manifest into mental health challenges, behavioural addictions and mental patterns, eating disorders, substance abuse and unhealthy drinking, and unhelpful stress and trauma responses.
I offer compassionate, evidence-based, and ethical care to my clients, their families and the organisations I work with and provide a safe, trusting space for exploration, healing and growth. I work as an integrative therapist who offers empathy and compassion in a non-judgmental and safe environment.
I am trained to use several approaches to counselling such as Integrative, Gestalt, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy), DBT (Dialectical behaviour therapy). I am familiar with and use the 12 steps and SMART Recovery techniques when working with addiction(s).
I work with people with a range of issues, such as:
- Anxiety
- Anger and anger management
- Addictions (alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, work, relationships, love, sex, food, internet, and social media)
- ADHD
- Abuse
- Relationship issues, codependency, and affairs
- Stress and burnout.
- OCD - obsessive thinking and behaviours.
- Inner child therapy
- Grief and loss
- Eating disorders
- Low self-esteem
- Family issues
- Poor mental health and emotional well-being
- Trauma (relational, developmental, attachment, direct, religious, PTSD, C-PTSD)
- Trauma recovery
- PTSD and C-PTSD
- Dissociation
- Work related issues
- Couple's counselling
How counselling can help
People usually come to counselling because they want something in their lives to change. Many people want to deal with a difficult relationship or situation - whether personal or professional. I will work with you to explore what is troubling you and identify how you can work through the things you may be finding difficult.
During the initial session, we will discuss what brings you to counselling, what your goals are and how I can help you reach them. It's an opportunity to gain some background information from you and explore how we can work together. Some clients choose a brief solution-focused approach of up to 6 sessions, which can include setting goals and introducing strategies to address their problems; others prefer to continue on a longer term basis.
As well as therapy sessions I have several online therapeutic and psychoeducation programmes and run online groups and training. For more details, please visit my website www.londoncounsellingandconsultancy.org
My Experience
I am a qualified counsellor (Gestalt, CBT, REBT, DBT) and group facilitator with extensive experience in helping people and their families struggling with mental health challenges, trauma, substance misuse and alcoholism, and process and behavioural addictions. My services include private one-to-one counselling and therapy, psychoeducational group work, inner child therapy, aftercare, and online groups, courses and programmes to help educate and support people.
I have extensive experience working with clients in addiction treatment centres and alcohol services whose lives have been affected by trauma, addictions, alcoholism and poor mental and emotional health. In recent years, with the rise of smart phones, I have worked with many adults and young people with internet, technology and social media addictions. I have extensive experience working with young people affected by bullying, poor mental health, behaviour and emotional issues and family and educational problems.
I also work with couples who may be having difficulties in their marriage or relationship. Many couples struggle and go around in circles with their problems. Small changes and new ways of relating and understanding their problems can make significant shifts in a couple's life together.
Where I am
I am based online on weekdays and evenings and available for park walks in London with my therapy dog Mabel, the Chow Chow.
If you would like to discuss the therapy and programmes I offer or have any questions, please email or call me, and I will respond as soon as possible.
Training, qualifications & experience
My experience lies in working therapeutically with adults, professionals, couples and young people from a multitude of backgrounds specifically with addictions, alcoholism, bullying, poor mental health, relationship issues and abuse.
My counselling qualifications include:
- Accredited Diploma in Counselling (BACP-accredited)
- Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills and Theory
- Diploma in CBT/REBT
- Facilitating Therapeutic Group Work
I completed my counselling training at the Gestalt Centre and College of Cognitive Behavioural Therapies at Regents University in London. Whilst my core working philosophy is Gestalt and REBT during my experience of practising I have been influenced by and integrated existential, person centred, motivational interviewing, 12 step, mindfulness and CBT theories and practice.
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, a governing body that ensures professionalism within counselling and psychotherapy. I work within the BACP ethical framework and am professionally insured with professional indemnity insurance.
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
£100.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Individuals £100
Young People £75
Couples £125
Therapy bundles and programmes are available on my website: www.londoncounsellingandconsultancy.org
Some concessions are available to those on low income and unemployment.
When I work
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Weekday and evening availability. Please message or call me to enquire
Further information
I am required to maintain continuous professional development through courses and training and have to provide evidence of my professional development and practice to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
