About me
Hello. I’m Lesley. I’m a qualified counsellor and registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, with over 25 years’ experience in helping roles. I work 1:1 with adults aged 18 and over both in-person and online.
You might find yourself struggling with problematic thoughts, feelings, or relationships, be facing doubts about your sense of self, struggling with confidence or self-worth, be troubled by past experiences, or simply finding life harder to navigate than you would like. Therapy can offer a valuable space to explore, process or manage challenges in living. I offer a space to explore these more deeply, making meaning from them without allowing those experiences to define who you are.
I provide a warm, compassionate and confidential space where you can feel heard, understood and able to explore whatever has brought you to counselling. I will listen carefully to your story to understand not only the difficulties that you are experiencing, but the existing strengths and resources you already have.
I'd love to explore the stories and beliefs you have developed about yourself and your life, including those that may have been shaped by difficult or painful experiences. My aim is not to give you a set of answers, but to work alongside you as you develop a deeper understanding of yourself and your experiences, notice patterns that keep you stuck, and reconnect with and develop your strengths that will support finding your own way forward towards a life that feels more authentically your own.
I have specialist experience of working with people who have experienced domestic abuse and understand the complex, multi-layered and far-reaching ways that abuse and coercive control can affect survivors. If you've experienced domestic abuse, I'm passionate about supporting you to rebuild your life and explore your own truth about who you are, what matters to you and how you want to live now and in the future. I use a trauma-skilled approach at a pace that suits you.
Whatever brings you here, we can explore what is troubling you together, at your pace, and work towards the kind of change that is most meaningful to you.
Training, qualifications & experience
Qualifications:
- MSc Counselling (distinction) - Abertay University
- Bachelor of Nursing, Mental Health (distinction, university medal winner) - Edinburgh Napier University
- HNC Counselling (distinction) - Edinburgh College
Experience:
- Alliance Counselling, private practice in Dalkeith and Edinburgh
- Perthshire Women’s Aid – counsellor (employed)
- Perthshire Women’s Aid – volunteer counsellor
- Birthlink – volunteer counsellor
Other areas of work experience include:
- Community Mental Health Nurse in the NHS
- Family support
- Youth Outreach
- Learning Disabilities
- Homelessness
- Tenancy Support
- Post-diagnostic dementia support
- 16-25 year old support
- Working with care experienced individuals
- Mental Health Support
- Storytelling
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
£55.00 - £65.00
Additional information
Sessions are £55 for a 50-minutes face-to-face session in Dalkeith
I charge £65 for a 50-minute face-to-face session in the Edinburgh venue. This is because of a difference in room hire contracting.
Online sessions are £55 on all platforms
When I work
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Where possible we can schedule the same day and time every week or fortnight. However, I am also able to be flexible and offer sessions at variable times, for example, to suit shift workers. This includes some evenings and weekends.
Further information
I will work with you in a non-directive way, adapting our work together to your needs. You may not have a clear sense of what is wrong, or may simply feel that things have become to difficult to manage alone. There is no need to have everything figured out before we begin; we can make sense of what is happening together. We can start wherever you are, at a pace that feels manageable for you. You don't have to do this alone.
