About Ranka
Ranka Smith is a counsellor with 26 years of experience working in the United Kingdom. She supports people who are struggling with stress, anxiety, low self-esteem and depression. Ranka also helps with relationship strain, motivation, grief and compassion fatigue.
She speaks English, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian which can help people from varied backgrounds feel understood. Ranka keeps sessions straightforward and warm. She creates a calm space where people can talk about thoughts and feelings without fear of judgement.
Background and approach
The focus is on practical steps that fit into everyday life rather than complicated theory. Sessions aim to help people notice patterns and try small changes that make a difference. Her approach draws on attachment-based ideas and client-centred listening, alongside cognitive behavioural techniques and mindfulness.
These tools are used to address problems such as addiction, body image concerns, eating and sleeping issues, and trauma-related stress. Ranka adapts the pace to each person and pays attention to safety when difficult material comes up. People come to Ranka for help with life transitions, parenting strains, immigration-related stress and ageing concerns.
She also offers support for those coping with bipolar symptoms, anger, ADHD and intimacy-related issues. The aim is to help people feel more able to manage day-to-day challenges and to rebuild confidence. Beginning work involves a gentle first conversation to set goals and agree on what would help most.
Ranka uses a collaborative style so people keep control of decisions about their pace and priorities.
Practical approaches for online therapy
Ranka uses attachment-based and client-centred methods alongside cognitive behavioural techniques. Attachment-based work looks at how early relationship patterns affect current trust and closeness, which can help with relationship and abandonment worries. Client-centred counselling places the person's experience at the heart of sessions and focuses on being heard and understood. Cognitive behavioural work helps identify unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviours to reduce anxiety, low mood and problematic routines.Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Ranka will talk with the person about their goals, preferences and what has or hasn't helped before. Together they decide which methods to try and adapt them over time based on progress and comfort.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to make counselling easier to fit into life. Video calls are useful for a face-to-face feel, phone sessions can be quicker or use less bandwidth, live chat suits shorter check-ins and text messaging can support ongoing reflection between sessions. These options give flexibility for different schedules, energy levels and technical needs while keeping the focus on meaningful therapeutic work.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Codependency
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Grief
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- LGBT
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sleeping disorders
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 26 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
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