Matthew Quickenden-Smith, BACP

Matthew Quickenden-Smith offers a calm, straightforward approach for people feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression or big life changes. He welcomes conversations about LGBT concerns, gender dysphoria, grief, addictions, relationship strain and career pressure. Sessions aim to help clients feel steadier and make practical changes that matter in daily life.

Matthew works in a conversational, person-focused way. He listens first to what matters most to each person, then helps them set small, achievable goals. He uses client-centred ideas to follow the client’s concerns and solution-focused methods to find clear next steps.

Over six years he has supported people through trauma, anger issues, low self-esteem and intimacy challenges. He also helps those facing compassion fatigue and people navigating family-related pressures as individuals rather than running family therapy sessions.

His membership of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP, is shown as BACP and signals his professional registration with that body. Matthew uses that framework while tailoring sessions to each person’s needs.

Clients can expect short, clear conversations about what they want to change. Matthew aims to make the work practical, with simple tasks and check-ins between sessions when helpful. He encourages people to take the next step when they feel ready and supports them at a pace that suits them.

How client-centred and solution-focused work fits online

Client-Centred Therapy is about following the client’s lead. The counsellor listens carefully and reflects what the person says so they feel heard and understood. This approach helps when someone needs space to make sense of feelings like grief, anxiety or gender-related concerns.

Solution-Focused Therapy concentrates on what can change next. It looks for small, practical steps and what has worked before. That style suits people who want focused, short-term plans for things like coping with stress, managing low mood or improving relationships at work.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Matthew will talk through goals and preferences and help decide whether to use client-centred exploration, solution-focused tasks, or a mix. That decision is collaborative and can change as progress is made.

Confirm current session options before booking so you know what formats are offered. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into busy days, reduce travel time and allow check-ins around work or family commitments. It can also suit people who prefer shorter, more frequent meetings or audio-only conversations when less bandwidth is needed.