Dr Daren Lee
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I am a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society, registered with the HCPC and fully accredited with the BACP. Following specialist training, I am also a certified mentalization-based therapy practitioner and an EMDR therapist. Please note that I am fully insured, ICO registered and hold an up to date DBS Certificate.
As a practitioner, I adopt a compassionate approach to therapy, while informing my work with psychological theory and evidence-based practices.
Psychological distress is enigmatic. On the one hand, core human emotions are much needed and quite natural, and yet, on the other hand, we can sometimes become stuck in patterns of distress that we find unhelpful and isolating. From my experiences, psychological therapy in its many forms can offer the support to navigate this confusion. At the heart of this the therapeutic relationship plays its role. As social beings, we experience life in its fullness by how we relate to, or are related to, by others and the therapeutic relationship is no different.
What can I offer as a therapist? I am sensitive, warm and professional. The training I have undertaken has been extremely thorough and I have a broad range of clinical experiences. My approach to practice centres around the shared space that therapy offers and an attempt to understand people in their fullness. We are all more than our psychological distress and with support, we can bring into light the other parts of ourselves that have been left in its shadow.
Following an assessment session, we can discuss treatment options to find one that is the best fit for you. The work of therapy varies according to the modality or techniques that are being used, ranging from those that offer a non-judgemental space to allow processing, to more directive work in which evidence-based techniques are planned and carried out together.
Publications:
Lee, D. (2020). A jolt of transformation. The Psychologist. https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/jolt-transformation
Lee, D. (2021). Mental health and alcohol use – a chicken and egg problem. The Psychologist. (Apr (34): 4-8. https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/mental-health-and-alcohol-use-chicken-and-egg-problem
Lee, D. (2021, April). Alcohol use and mental health – a false economy. The Psychologist. (34).
Lee, D. (2021, July). OCD: Hostage Negotiations. Therapy Today.
Lee, D. (2023). Mental Health Problems Associated with Alcohol. In D. B. Cooper (Eds.), Alcohol Use: Assessment, Withdrawal Management and Treatment: ethical practice in hospital and home. Springer.
Lee, D. (2022). Psychological distress, alcohol and language misuse. Journal of Substance Use. https://doi.org/10.1080/14659891.2022.2070878
Lee, D., & Antonino, R. (2023). Are We Losing Connection? Lived Experience of Online Mutual Aid Groups During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Contemporary Drug Problems, 50(3), 328-349. https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509231170773
Lee, D. (2023, October). OCD: Calling the kidnapper’s bluff. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal.
Training, qualifications & experience
Dr Daren Lee HCPC Reg Psychologist/ BACP Accredited Psychotherapist and British Psychological Society (RAPPS) registered clinical supervisor.
During my career as a therapist and psychologist, I have developed my identity as a practitioner according to a key set of values. I take a phenomenological approach to understanding what clients are experiencing in their day-to-day lives. Therapists and counsellors have a wide range of theories, techniques and skills but these need to be utilised according to the uniqueness of each and every client. I believe that it is of paramount importance that clients' autonomy is respected, so that therapeutic work is the product of a collaborative process. I have authored articles for The Psychologist (BPS) and Therapy Today (BACP) magazines, academic journals and chapters in textbooks and have lectured on mental health, CBT and counselling psychology university modules. I have trained in key therapeutic modalities, including person-centred counselling, second and third wave cognitive-behavioural therapies and psychodynamic counselling. I have experience working in bereavement, NHS primary care services, mental health charities, addiction services and NHS secondary care services.
Member organisations
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.
The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
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
£95.00 per session
Free initial telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
£95 per fifty minute online session. Limited concessionary appointments are available (please enquire).
A limited number of face-to-face sessions can be arranged upon request (please enquire). £100 per fifty minute face-to-face sessions.
Please note that fees may be higher if they are funded through your health insurance, due to extra administrative costs.
When I work
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