Claudia Salmanis is a Specialist Therapist with a diverse professional background in psychology, cognitive behavioural therapy, addiction treatment, social care and education.
Claudia holds a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy at SCQF Level 11. She is accredited with Addiction Professionals and is a registered member of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP), currently working towards full BABCP accreditation. Her additional qualifications include a COSCA Counselling Skills Certificate, a Professional Development Award in Health and Social Care Supervision at SCQF Level 7, an HNC in Social Care, and specialist training in grief and bereavement counselling.
Before moving into psychology, social care and therapeutic practice, Claudia trained in Geography and worked as a teacher in Romania from 1999 to 2009. During this time, she was also involved in running a charity supporting children from orphanages to access further and higher education, including providing tutoring support to help them prepare for examinations.
In her current clinical practice, Claudia works primarily with addiction and co-occurring psychological difficulties, integrating CBT with a person-centred and recovery-focused approach. She has a particular interest in grief and loss, trauma, family and developmental experiences, and the relationship between thoughts, emotions, behaviours and addiction. She also facilitates specialist therapeutic work, including grief.
As a Romanian speaker, Claudia is also able to provide therapeutic support to Romanian-speaking patients and their families, helping them engage more fully in treatment when language might otherwise be a barrier.
Claudia believes that therapy should help people not only understand what has happened in their lives but also recognise the patterns that may be keeping them stuck and develop practical ways of moving forward.