Desmond Lewis PDDip MBACP

About me

I am a registered member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy). My role as a counsellor is to provide the opportunity for you to explore, discover and clarify ways of living a more satisfying, and resourceful life. As a counsellor, I provide a safe, non-judgemental and confidential environment for your growth.

As an Independent Counsellor, I have experience in many areas of counselling including relationships, sexual abuse, addiction, anxiety and depression, self-esteem.
Emotional problems and stress can affect any one at any time. You may need help to understand how past experiences and worries about future or lack of confidence may be affecting your life.

My theoretical approach is Person-Centred; however, I am able to utilise a range of approaches when assessing client’s. I have found it necessary at times to use Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to help motivate clients I work with. This can help solve problems concerning dysfunctional emotions, behaviours and cognitions that change the way a person thinks and how the thinking pattern changes the behaviour in the individual. This approach is a goal-oriented procedure.

I believe in treating hidden issues and invisible scars that go untreated. My interventions bring healing and restoration into lives of hurting people, unearthing unmentionable topics and offering practical and spiritual solutions to life's toughest questions.

My main approach is to uncover your internal locus evaluation. This means encouraging you to trust and value your view of self. Many individuals tend to have an underlying negative view of self-imposed on from childhood, adulthood or both. This is called an external locus evaluation. This occurs when we are over-reliant on the views of others. Self-hate, self-acceptance can all originate from being told that you are not good enough, need to do things according to parents, society or significant others.

In many cases there are many layers to pull away. I have worked successfully with several individuals to shift their focus from an external locus of control to internal locus of control. Many of my clients experience an emerging sense of freedom, of self-worth and self-reliance. Old issues begin to dissipation and a sense of peace settles.

My vision is to help people with long or short-term, deep-seated or underlying issues which affect their day to day lives, through counselling.

All prospective clients are offered a mutual contract between 3-6 weeks to decide which feels suitable to both parties. This gives both the client and the counsellor the opportunity to build a working alliance which includes offering feedback of how we feel about the session.