A conversation with Claire Naidoo

• What led you to choose psychotherapy or counselling as a profession?

  I originally trained and worked as a lawyer, with the intention of helping people. Alongside that, I had always been drawn to philosophy and psychology, which I studied during my arts degree. Over time, I realised that law wasn’t allowing me to help people in the way I had envisioned.
  
  What stayed constant, though, was my curiosity about people — how our minds work, why we repeat certain patterns, and how change happens. That natural interest, combined with a desire to help in a more meaningful way, led me to psychology.
  
  I chose to train as a clinical psychologist to deepen both the scientific and therapeutic understanding of human behaviour, and to be able to offer accessible, evidence-based care.

• Which philosophical approaches have influenced your professional development?

  I’m influenced by humanistic and philosophical ideas that people are inherently good, and that many of our struggles arise from adaptation rather than flaw (Rousseau). I hold a strong belief in our capacity to change, even when patterns feel deeply ingrained.
  
  Curiosity is central to my work, drawing on a more Socratic approach of exploring rather than imposing answers. I’m also influenced by relational philosophy (Buber), the idea that healing happens in connection with others, and by thinkers such as Spinoza, who emphasised understanding ourselves as a path to freedom.
  
  The idea of balance is central — reflected in both Western philosophy and Eastern traditions such as Daoism — guiding how I think about integration, change, and how we live.

• Which particular aspects of health or the human journey are you interested in?

  I’m interested in the process of change — how we come to understand ourselves, and how that unfolds both within us and in our relationships. This includes patterns, identity, and the experience of self, as well as belonging within relationships, cultures, and groups.
  
  I’m also interested in the balance between movement and rest — how we change, and how we settle. Alongside this, I’m drawn to the connection between mind and body, and how working with one can influence the other.

• What methods do you use?

  I use an integrative approach tailored to the individual. This includes ACT, DBT, EMDR, psychodynamic and relational approaches, motivational interviewing, solution-focused strategies where helpful, strengths-based work, and somatic/nervous system regulation.

• When do you think the client will start to feel that progress is being made?

  Showing up is already the first step towards progress, and I like to remind clients of that. Change often happens slowly, then all at once, and timelines vary for each person.
  
  Early on, I aim to create a space where clients begin to notice subtle shifts — feeling heard, held, and more hopeful. Over time, these build into more consistent changes in thinking, feeling, and behaviour.

• How has therapy made a difference in your life?

  Therapy has deepened my self-awareness and helped me understand my own patterns, emotions, and relational dynamics more clearly. It has allowed me to respond more intentionally, and to move toward a greater sense of alignment and authenticity.
  
  I also value engaging in therapy myself. For me, this is about integrity: if I’m encouraging others to have the courage to look inward, I need to be able to do the same.

• What do you like most about being a therapist?

  I feel privileged to be able to walk alongside and at times to hold people in their experience of life and them selves.

• Do you ever have 'bad hair' days?

  My hair is purple — how could I possibly have a bad hair day?! But yes, of course I do. But bad hair days end, and there's always shampoo and styling tools available to reshape my hair for the next day.

• What do you think is the most significant problem we face, in the world today?

  Disconnection — from ourselves, from each other, and from a deeper sense of meaning.

• Can you share the name of a book, film, song, event or work of art that inspires you?

  The Little Prince — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
  Man’s Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl