Hayley Smith

From the end of October 2025 I am able to offer a limited number of Thursday (daytime only) appointments for in-person therapy in Oxford.

I also have some availability for online sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays. These can only be offered to UK-based individuals.

Past clients are welcome to enquire about the possibility of therapy in the same location as your previous sessions.

I am a fully qualified and experienced Psychodynamic Counsellor and Psychotherapist, and I see individual adults (18+) for either short-term or more in-depth mid to long-term therapy. I have a MSc (distinction) in Psychodynamic Counselling & Psychotherapy. I am a Registered Member of the Â鶹ԭ´´ and a Registrant with the BPC (British Psychoanalytic Council). 

Sessions take place either in person or online via Zoom.  If via Zoom, you must have a private indoor space with a stable internet connection.

Alongside my private practice I am an occasional Psychological Therapist at the University of Warwick. Because of this I unfortunately am unable to offer private therapy to current students of the University.

I am registered as a Data Controller with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) and my Data Protection & Data Privacy Policy can be found on my website. I hold an Enhanced DBS certificate.

My approach is warm, non-directive and non-judgmental and as a psychodynamic practitioner I’m interested in exploring patterns of behaviour and considering how your past relationships and experiences connect with and shape how you may relate to yourself and others in the present. I will work with you to help you gain new perspectives - to change how we do things we need to try and understand why we do them. Gaining an insight into how our past may have shaped us helps us better understand the deep-seated patterns by which we – often unconsciously – live our lives.

When we begin to reframe our experiences there is hope for greater self-awareness and emotionally healthier ways of thinking and relating.

Some of the issues I work with include: depression, anxiety, transitions, family, relationships, low self-esteem, 'stuckness', bereavement, trauma, issues around identity, infertility/childlessness and loss.

I offer a free 15-minute telephone or online consultation before meeting for the first time. This gives you an opportunity to briefly outline your current circumstances and reasons for contacting me, and enables me to tell you more about how I work.

If we then decide to meet we will arrange an initial session which will last about an hour. During this session I will ask questions to begin to build a picture about your past, your present and your expectations; which may include hopes and fears about entering therapy. The initial session is slightly longer than ongoing therapy sessions and is a two-way process for both you and I to consider if a psychodynamic approach might work for you and to help us both think about what you might need and what might help. We will then decide next steps, which might include moving forward into therapy sessions or maybe considering other options available to you.