Lorraine Anderson
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Key areas: Hi, thank you for stopping by to read my page. There are so many therapists to choose from, so to help you, this is a little about me and the approaches I use in therapy.
We begin with an understanding of what has brought you to therapy, and what your goals and hopes are so we can plan how to meet your aims. How I work with you will depend on those individual needs to ensure the sessions are tailored to you. I prefer not to pre-determine a fixed therapeutic approach, which allows for flexibility as I get to know you, as the mind and body are in constant flux, that can vary from session to session (an exception might be if you are under the supervision of a GP and your condition requires a specific support structure. (Please see legalities at bottom of page).
Our first few initial meetings are an assessment. I don't rush this because sometimes clients are unsure what is going on and need to be asked questions and have a dialogue to help them identify their needs and struggles.
My training as an Integrative and Mindfulness therapist, influenced by a Buddhist understanding of the mind and consciousness, is therefore inclusive of matters of faith and other spiritual beliefs. Your psyche is unique to you and what it needs might not be a fit for 'normative' clinically informed prescribed treatments. Therefore I work open-mindedly and open-heartedly, as we live in a neurodiverse and neuro-spiritually informed time.
That said, I am therefore not a person-centred therapist, hence that approach would contradict my modalities which include shared dialogue and psychoeducational guidance and information (the nuts and bolts, so to speak, of how we work from the inside out). I prefer to say that I am 'client-centred', after which the client can then from a position of being informed understand what it is they need.
I am also a creatively inspired counsellor and a member of 'Creative Counsellors.org' This means I recognise and validate that art as therapy which we symbolise using marks on paper or through objects (such as shells) reflects our unspoken emotions and holds significant healing benefits when guided by a therapist. Many of my clients have been happily surprised at how quickly they get to the root of their symptoms visually, rather than only talking. They have found the process softens the release of emotions, preventing overwhelm and hidden fear of their feelings.
Art journalling and creating mandalas and other culturally inspired sacred geometry for relaxation are my ways of relaxing. These activities give the mind something meaningful and joyful to focus on, resting the nervous system, soothing my breath and reducing the amount of time spent in needless chatter, which is tiring and can also deepen small worries with imagined larger worries. So it is an intervention, a part of self-care, something, in whatever form it takes we all need as a balanced part of living.
This is important to understand when you want to resolve your mind's worries. So I may at some stage invite you to draw out aspects of your 'Inner Child' during a session if that feels safe and appropriate for you to engage with.
I aim to help you safely and gently meet and understand those buried stories or feelings, find your voice and not be overwhelmed. Therapy supports clients to understand themselves, overcome trauma, heal emotionally and finally connect with a sense of inner peace. I do this by offering a listening intervention that restores you, so you feel valued within your self-experience, which supports the return to mental and emotional stability, which is our natural right.
If you would like to book a call or a session at the outset, please send an email. I often cannot answer a direct phone call as I might be in a session. It is also a safeguard as some phone calls are not genuine, such as marketing.
For transparency, I need to get to know you a little first, sometimes called 'an initial assessment' to ensure I am the right person for you to work with and that I have the right skill sets to meet your particular needs (To increase the best chance of having a positive therapeutic outcome). There are also some limitations to my work, please see below.
Legalities
I am not registered to work with adopted adults. I may be unable to work with someone who is in a domestic abuse relationship in which children are involved and are being overseen by social services, cases such as this can impact the person's limits to confidentiality in therapy should their situation lead to a court case and my notes would have to be handed over if asked. I would have to report violence where children are concerned or the parent/carer's wellbeing is at risk and would not need client consent to do this. Or, where an ongoing psychological diagnostic condition has been identified that is outside of the scope of my training or with someone who may be seeing a psychologist. Thank you for your understanding. These clauses are to maintain the reputation of therapeutic practices and to safeguard those who are vulnerable.
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold a Level 5, Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling awarded by CPCAB, a Professional Accredited training route recognised by the BACP of which I am a member.
I attend regular training courses and read up on the current theory of therapy CPD are an ongoing part of my professional development.
I am a member of Creative Counsellors which offer high-quality professional resources to qualified counsellors who include creative ways of working in their therapy practice. Approved by the CPCAB.
2024 -
1. Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults in Educational settings (I also work as an online workshop educator and skills trainer).
2. Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity training
3. Level 2 Understanding Neuroscience from Birth to Early Childhood and how early trauma, neglect or abuse experiences impact adulthood.
3. L2 Mental health in the workplace and how to discuss issues with line management and what your working rights are under the Mental Health Act.
4. I am registered on the DBS update service
'Soul at Heart Counselling', began in May 2017. Between training and being in Private Practice I have accrued 12 years of therapy experience in practice and understanding of mental health, and how to compassionately work with the many struggles we each face in various areas of our lives.
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
Photos & videos
Fees
£55.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
In-person therapy is £55 per full hour which has remained the same since 2022. Zoom and WhatsApp therapy is held at £45.
Reduced session rates are offered to students, trainee counsellors, or young people (16- 18) at £45 in person or £40 online.
Low-income rates are £30, telephone or online and a maximum of six sessions. (a review can be offered to extend this on a case-by-case basis).
When I work
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Early sessions start at 10 am and the last session begins at 6 pm to end at 7 pm.
Other days may be available online.
Further information
Dragonfly Wellbeing Centre, situated at the upper end of Mutley Plain in Plymouth, towards Mannamead, offers free on street parking after 10 am. There are also two free car parks for 2 hours nearby. The building itself is dedicated to therapies, thereby offering a non intrusive professional, quiet and safe space for counselling to take place in well decorated and carpeted rooms with comfy chairs and heating.
