About Ian
Ian Smith is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom who helps people facing stress, anxiety, addiction and other life challenges. He works with people on issues such as depression, trauma, grief, relationship and intimacy concerns, and supports those managing ADHD, bipolar, eating or sleeping difficulties. He aims to make the first contact straightforward and approachable for worried parents and individuals alike.
Ian uses simple, practical steps in sessions. He draws on cognitive behavioural ideas to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and try different responses.
Background and approach
He also uses acceptance and commitment ideas to help people clarify what matters to them and take small steps towards those values. Attachment-focused work helps him look at how early relationships shape current patterns, and client-centred listening gives people space to be heard and understood. He adapts his style to each person and focuses on clear, manageable goals rather than jargon.
Ian has ten years of experience in social services and mental health settings, and he holds BACP registration with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. That background informs a practical, down-to-earth approach to counselling. Sessions are offered in English and can be arranged for international clients.
Ian supports people through a wide range of concerns including parenting strain, caregiver stress, body image, chronic health issues, codependency and identity-related matters such as LGBT concerns. He aims to collaborate with people so they leave sessions with useful, doable steps.
Approach and online counselling options
Ian commonly uses cognitive behavioural therapy to help people spot unhelpful thinking patterns and try different behaviours that can reduce distress. CBT works well for anxiety, low mood and many everyday problems by breaking issues into clear, manageable steps.He also draws on acceptance and commitment therapy which encourages people to clarify what matters to them and take small, value-based actions even when difficult feelings are present. That approach can help with persistent worry, low motivation and long-term life changes.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. He will discuss goals, preferences and what feels most useful, and then tailor sessions so methods fit the person rather than the other way round. Collaboration guides decisions about techniques and pace.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation when schedules permit. Phone sessions need less bandwidth and can fit a break at work. Live chat and messaging suit shorter check-ins or for people who prefer writing. These options aim to make counselling flexible and easier to fit into everyday life.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Traumatic brain injury
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English
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