Chiara Stoten, BACP

Chiara Stoten is a counsellor who focuses on helping people navigate major life shifts, including midlife changes. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, relationship strain, loss, and changes in identity or purpose. Chiara aims to create a calm space where people can talk through what matters to them and decide what they want to change.

Chiara uses an integrative style that adapts to each person. She listens for what a client needs and matches her approach to those goals. That may mean exploring past experiences that affect current feelings, focusing on present strengths to make practical changes, or helping people reflect on meaning and values.

Her background includes six years of practice, with four years running a private practice in the Bristol area. She has substantial experience supporting people who have faced trauma, dissociation and abuse, and she has worked a lot with depression, stress and anxiety. More recently she has built experience working with autism and ADHD.

Sessions are paced to suit each person and to fit realistic goals. Chiara encourages gentle progress rather than quick fixes. The work often combines listening, reflective conversation and practical steps to manage day-to-day difficulties.

People come to her for help with grief, addictions, intimacy and self-esteem, as well as challenges such as parenting strains, career crossroads and coping with chronic illness. She welcomes conversations about what a helpful way forward might look like and supports clients in shaping their next steps.

How Chiara’s approaches support online therapy

Chiara uses client-centred and psychodynamic ways of working that transfer well to remote conversations. Client-centred work focuses on listening closely, reflecting what someone says and helping them feel understood; it helps with stress, low mood and relationship worries. Psychodynamic work looks at how past experiences shape present feelings and patterns, which can help when someone wants to understand recurring difficulties.

Choosing the right approach is part of the therapy process. Chiara works together with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That means she adapts the balance between reflective talking, problem-solving and practical steps as the work progresses.

If you are considering online therapy, check which session formats Chiara currently offers before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life and to keep continuity when schedules change. It can allow shorter check-ins when needed, or sessions that avoid travel time, helping people maintain momentum between meetings.