About me
Compassionate therapy, helping you reconnect to yourself with acceptance and kindness.
I'm Lena, an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist. I strive to create a warm, accepting and validating space for you, your thoughts and feelings. I work from the belief that different people may need different things from therapy, and draw from a number of therapeutic approaches to find a way of working that truly meets your needs.
Perhaps you need to talk and let off steam? I can offer you the opportunity to reflect on difficulties in a safe and confidential environment, where you feel heard and valued, not judged.
Perhaps you want something more proactive? I can offer strategies to help manage anxiety, for example, or to work on low self-esteem. I can support you to explore and process deeper and more challenging life experiences. I can help you to look at things from new perspectives which can lead to better self-understanding and acceptance.
I am passionate about self-compassion and the benefits it can bring to our lives. I have found compassion to be a powerful healer, and it is woven into the way I work with all clients.
Why Self Compassion?
Sometimes, in this busy world, we can lose connection with ourselves. We can develop an unkind or judgemental inner voice, even telling ourselves we need it in order to keep going. Being kind to yourself can seem impossible, or perhaps something that you don't deserve. But that constant inner critic can lead to many common mental health difficulties, including low self-esteem and self-worth, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, poor body image, anxiety and depression. Through our work together I will support you to approach your life, your experiences and yourself with greater compassion.
The following therapies are central to the way I work:
I have a Humanistic therapeutic approach, which means that I believe that every person is unique, with their own personal interpretation of the world. We all have the capacity for growth and the ability to fulfil our own potential. My role is to create a place of safety, a supportive environment where you can connect with your own strength, healing and growth.
Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) recognises that we all have a tendency to get stuck in difficult thoughts and behaviours because of the way that our brains have evolved. We also have a tendency to blame ourselves for this, which can spiral into further negativity. CFT can help you to develop a way of interacting with yourself that is based on kindness, respect and acceptance, rather than self-punishment. This can calm your threat responses, helping you to feel soothed and calm, rather than constantly threatened.
Psychodynamic Therapy recognises the huge impact that our relationships have on us. From our attachment relationships (our early relationships with our care givers when we were young) to our friendships and romantic relationships. Understanding can lead to greater self-awareness. We can also work towards making changes in our current and future relationships, rather than reliving the patterns of the past.
I am Trauma-informed and also draw on other therapeutic approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Existential Therapy, and may bring these into our work as-and-when they are useful to you.
Diversity and Inclusion
I aim to provide a safe and affirming therapeutic space for people of all identities and backgrounds. I welcome individuals of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, races, ethnicities, abilities and neurodiversities. Your unique experiences and identity are central to our work together.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a qualified integrative counsellor and psychotherapist. I have 12 years of experience as a counsellor in a university counselling service where I have worked with students and staff. I am experienced in working with adults of all ages, including young adults aged 18-25.
Qualifications
- Post Graduate Diploma Integrative Counselling
- MA Integrative Counselling
Professional Membership
MBACP (Accred.). I am a Registered and Accredited Member of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP).
Additional Training
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Autism Collective Training
- BRIEF Therapy (short-term solution focused therapy)
- Compassion Focused Therapy
- Cultural Competency
- Difference, Diversity and Anti-Oppressive Practice
- Flash Technique (Traumatic memories)
- Gendered Intelligence - Trans and Non-Binary Awareness
- Trauma Stabilisation
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
£60.00 per session
When I work
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I currently have availability on Mondays and Tuesdays, daytime and evening, and on Wednesday daytime.
