About Lewes Therapy
Psychotherapy /Counselling and CBT With Soul
I’m an accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT) Psychotherapist, with specialist training in and over twenty years experience of working therapeutically with adults and children, as well as working as a senior counsellor and supervisor.
Having originally trained in Integrative Psychosynthesis before training in CBT I bring a soulful and transpersonal dimension to my practise. This means that I can provide a safe space in which your higher potential and capacity for inner healing can be activated. This will allow you to identify and transform unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaving and draw on inner resources in a way that leads to deep, meaningful and lasting change.
My Approach
People often ask 'Might talk therapy not work for me?' I've found that the most important element of successful therapy is establishing a supportive relationship based on the understanding that we're all doing the best we can. Our work will then be a collaboration: helping you define your values as well as any challenges, uncovering what’s keeping any problems going, then identifying and building on your strengths and resources to find creative solutions. These are often practical: involving cognitive shifts and gradual behavioural change that can make a profound difference to levels of functioning, engagement with life and general well-being.
The right fit is really important in therapy so for this reason initial consultations are free. I have a room available for face to face sessions here in Laughton and can also work remotely. I also offer outside therapy/nature therapy/walking therapy in the beautiful woods around Laughton and the Sussex Downs. The benefits of walking therapy include being less intimidating then face to face therapy, making it easier to open up. It also confers all the health benefits of walking and being in nature with there associated mood boosting properties.
Range of Issues Treated
I've worked with many people simply curious about the benefits of therapy and wanting to understand more about themselves and their way of being in the world. I also have experience of working with a wide range of specific issues including: transitions, identity issues, loss, addiction, eating disorders, self-esteem issues, insomnia and sleep disorders, anxiety disorders including GAD, social anxiety, panic disorder, OCD, phobia’s, body dysmorphia and perfectionism. I also have extensive experience of working with PTSD and complex trauma, along with experience of successfully working with depression and self-harm.
I have a special interest in neurodiversity and have worked with challenges arising from ADHD, ASC and PDD including issues with motivation, procrastination, self-regulation and social difficulties.
Working With Children and Young People
I love working with children and young people: I understand that children often show rather than tell and communicate through play, I routinely use art materials, games and toys as an integral part of the therapeutic process and try to make therapy as engaging and fun as possible. With younger children the training of a parent as a co-therapist is also a vital component to making and sustaining positive change.
I find that CBT can be made really accessible for younger clients: and have noticed it works really well for children who like structure and struggle to talk about their experiences. I’ll often encourage them to be detectives bringing curiosity to what they’re doing, thinking and feeling and then helping them turn scientist - devising their own behavioural experiments to try out the changes they want to make. I offer a limited number of after school sessions and can also work with schools and colleges to enable sessions to take place during the school day.
Professional Accreditations
The fact that I'm an accredited member of both the BACP and BABCP and appear on the professional standards authorities accredited register means that you can be assured of my training and qualifications, competence and adherence to these organisations high professional standards.
