Smriti Rai
Registered Member MÌÇÐĹÙÍø
Contact information
- Phone number
- 07732988579
Therapist - Salford, Greater Manchester
Features
- Flexible hours available
- Concessionary rates
Availability
I currently have availability Wednesdays and Fridays.
I offer concessionary rate for Artists, BAME and LGBTQIA+ community with £40 per hour
About me and my therapy practice
Do you ever feel like you're carrying parts of your experience that others don't fully understand?Perhaps you're navigating different cultures, identities, family expectations, grief, relationships, or life transitions. You may feel anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected from yourself, or caught between different versions of who you're expected to be.
You don't need to have everything figured out before starting therapy.
I offer a warm, non-judgemental space where you can explore what's happening in your life at your own pace. Together, we can make sense of difficult emotions, understand patterns that may be keeping you stuck, and help you build a more compassionate relationship with yourself.
I work with adults experiencing:
- Identity and belonging issues
- Anxiety and overwhelm
- Grief and loss
- Low self-esteem and self-worth
- Cultural conflict and family pressures
- Minority stress and experiences of discrimination
- Life transitions and relationship difficulties
- Trauma and difficult past experiences
I have a particular interest in supporting people from global majority communities, migrants, mixed-heritage individuals, LGBTQIA+ clients, artists, creatives, and anyone who has felt caught between cultures, expectations, or ways of being.
As someone who grew up in Nepal and later trained as a counsellor in the UK, I understand some of the complexities that can arise when navigating multiple cultural identities. This experience informs my practice, helping me create a space where you don't need to spend your sessions translating important parts of yourself before feeling understood.
My foundation is Person-Centred Therapy, which means our work is guided by your unique experiences. Alongside this, I draw from Compassion Focused Therapy, Trauma-Responsive Mindfulness, Bereavement and Loss work, and creative approaches when words alone don't feel enough.
My aim is to help you feel more understood, more connected to yourself, and less alone in what you're carrying.
Practice description
The Third Space is a therapeutic space for people who have often felt they exist between worlds.
You may be navigating different cultures, identities, family expectations, relationships, or life transitions. Perhaps you've spent much of your life adapting, translating yourself, or wondering where you truly belong.
Therapy can offer a different kind of space, one where you don't have to choose between different parts of yourself, but can explore them with curiosity, compassion, and without judgement.
I have particular experience supporting:
- Global majority and diaspora communities
- Migrants and mixed-heritage individuals
- LGBTQIA+ clients
- Neurodivergent people
- Artists and creatives
- Young adults navigating life transitions
Alongside identity and belonging, I work with anxiety, grief, loss, self-esteem, depression, trauma, cultural conflict, relationship difficulties, and minority stress.
Whether you're struggling with something specific or simply know that things don't feel quite right, therapy can provide a place to pause, reflect, and reconnect with yourself.
A culturally responsive approach
Many people worry they'll spend therapy explaining their culture, family dynamics, experiences of migration, racism, or discrimination before they can begin talking about themselves.
My aim is to create a space where those aspects of your life are recognised as important rather than treated as an afterthought.
Being culturally responsive means approaching every client with openness and curiosity, understanding that culture, identity, values, and experiences are deeply personal and cannot be assumed.
My placement at Headstrong Counselling strengthened this approach through specialist training and supervision in culturally responsive practice while supporting clients from a wide range of backgrounds.
Even where we may share certain experiences, your story is your own. My role is not to make assumptions but to work alongside you in understanding what your experiences mean for you.
My first session
Starting therapy can feel like a big step, especially if it's your first time.
To help make that easier, I offer a free 20-minute phone or video consultation with no obligation to continue.
This gives us an opportunity to discuss what's bringing you to therapy, any questions you may have, and whether working together feels like the right fit.
You don't need to prepare anything or know exactly what to say. We simply begin wherever you are.
If we decide to work together, we'll arrange your first session. If not, I'll do my best to help you find support that feels more suitable for your needs.
What I can help with
Anxiety, Bereavement, Body/somatic therapy, Cultural issues, Depression, Identity issues, LGBTQ+ counselling, Loss, Self esteem, Service veterans, Sexual identity, Sexuality, Spirituality, Stress, Trauma, Women's issues, Work related issues
Types of therapy
Creative therapy, Humanistic, Person centred
Clients I work with
Adults, Trainees, Young people
How I deliver therapy
Long term sessions, Online therapy, Short term sessions, Telephone therapy
Languages spoken
English, Nepalese/Nepali