Chiara Stoten, BACP

Chiara Stoten offers a straightforward, person-focused approach for people coping with stress, anxiety, depression and relationship strain. She writes plainly and listens, tailoring sessions to what each person needs. Chiara uses simple, practical conversation to help people find more clarity and calm in daily life.

Chiara describes herself as an integrative counsellor. That means she draws on several approaches rather than using only one. She leans on client-centred work to make space for what matters to the client, and psychodynamic ideas to look at how past experiences link to present problems.

She also uses existential thinking to help people make sense of big life questions and solution-focused techniques to set clear, achievable goals. Sessions move at a pace set by the person in the room, with an emphasis on listening first and planning next.

Chiara has six years of overall experience and four years running a private practice in the Bristol area. She has worked with trauma, dissociation, abuse, depression, stress and anxiety, and has growing experience supporting people with autism and ADHD.

She helps people dealing with a wide range of concerns including grief, addictions, intimacy and parenting stress, caregiver strain, chronic illness and ageing and geriatric issues. Chiara holds BACP registration, which she uses to guide her professional practice.

To start, she encourages people to think about what they want from therapy and to raise that in the first session. Conversations focus on practical next steps as well as deeper understanding, depending on what the client prefers.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Chiara blends client-centred work with psychodynamic and solution-focused ideas to guide conversations. Client-centred therapy focuses on listening and making space for the person's own priorities, which helps when someone needs acceptance and a calm space to think. Psychodynamic work looks at how past relationships and experiences influence present feelings, which can be useful for repeated patterns or persistent anxiety. Solution-focused techniques aim for small, concrete steps and are helpful when someone wants quick practical change or clearer goals.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Chiara will talk through options and adapt methods to fit the person's needs, goals and preferences rather than imposing a single style. Together they decide whether to spend more time on understanding background issues or on short-term practical work.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy week, cut out travel time and allow shorter check-ins on difficult days. It can also let someone continue sessions while managing caregiving, long-term health conditions or relocation, by bringing therapy into their regular routine without promising a specific delivery method.