About me
Hello and thank you for viewing my profile. I'm Leanne, I hope that you will feel comfortable here.
Are you feeling overwhelmed with life and the pressure it brings?
Perhaps you have experienced an upheaval that you’re struggling to navigate or make sense of?
Do you feel like you’re people pleasing and putting others needs before your own, making you feel invisible?
Are you stuck in a bit of a rut, going round and round in circles, noticing that certain patterns keep showing up?
Maybe you're unsure of who you really are and feel like you're just playing a part that doesn't feel quite right?
Coming to counselling can feel scary, and I try my very best not to be scary! Our therapeutic relationship is the most important thing to me - I will never challenge you aggressively or make you feel small or stupid. Your physical and emotional safety is my top priority. I can offer you a safe, confidential space where we can explore your struggles together. I will not judge you or tell you what to do – we are all different and we all deal with difficulties in our own unique ways, it's about finding what matters to you and what works for you, not me filling the sessions with coaching jargon and "have you tried mindfulness?!"
I have always been a listener, a helper and an empath. I decided to start my counselling journey after working with teenagers who were struggling in school, and I have never regretted embarking on that journey. I consider it a great privilege to help people find out who they really are and what lights fires within them.
Clients and colleagues have described me as warm, genuine and natural, making them feel at ease. I like to laugh (when appropriate of course) and am not offended by a swear word! I will accept you exactly as you are, and will never need you to be anything other than yourself.
I am neuro-affirming and gender affirming in all areas of my practice. I also like to use visuals and metaphors, which can help us both to make sense of things in a way that can feel symbolic.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a qualified counsellor working with adults and young people. I have been trained in integrative humanistic counselling alongside elements of CBT, and mainly work in the Person Centred approach. I have also been trained in Play and Creative Therapy, including clay and sand tray, which can be just as effective with adults as it can be with young people. I am ecotherapy trained, meaning that I am safely able to offer walk & talk and outdoor sessions as well as face to face and online sessions.
I have worked in pastoral care in schools for a number of years, working with primary aged to sixth form, including those with SEND and SEMH needs.
Alongside my counselling qualification I am a qualified and accredited Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA), a trained Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and a Young Carers Champion. I have completed CPD on self harm, anger in children, environmental and emotionally based school avoidance (EEBSA), youth mentoring and mental health first aid.
As well as my private practice I also work with a charity offering support for survivors of domestic abuse and coercive control.
Member organisations
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
£45.00 per session
Additional information
I am able to offer discounted sessions for young people whose family may find cost a barrier to them accessing counselling, particularly if they are on long waiting lists for support.
I am also able to offer discounted sessions for those in receipt of certain benefits, please do get in touch to discuss this.
Further information
I can offer sessions face to face, online and outside. Please note that online sessions are not always suitable for children, but if you feel that this would be the only option for your child then please do get in touch to discuss this. I may also be able to offer home visits if leaving the house is a barrier to accessing counselling, please do get in touch if this is something you feel you or your child may need.
What to expect if you are seeing me face to face;
Want to come to session in your comfies? Go for it, no judgement here.
Want to bring a fidget / your knitting / crochet / something to keep your hands or eyes busy while you talk? Feel free! Eye contact is not compulsory, and neither is sitting still, so if you find it easier to move around the room then you can.
You are welcome to bring anything you need to help you feel regulated, including food or drink - I would hate for you to turn up to session hungry and then not get the most from it, it's your time and if you want or need to spend some of it giving your body what it needs then this is absolutely okay.
You are also welcome to attend with your baby if you are breastfeeding or even if it just makes your life easier.
If you can’t make it to session and would rather see me online one week (or more!) then I am happy to accommodate this. If you’d rather get out and walk, or just sit outside, then please do let me know. We can change it up each week if you'd like, to see what feels comfortable.
Anything I can do to help you feel at ease, please let me know and I will do my best to help!
I am neuro-affirming and gender affirming in all parts of my practice.
I am based in Swavesey, Cambridgeshire and have access to rooms in nearby villages as well as in St Ives and Cambridge, so if you would like to see me face to face then please do let me know and we can discuss where works best for both of us. Please note that if the room fee is high then I may need to add a small amount on to my session fee.
I currently work mornings, along with some evenings and weekends.
