Lucy Christopher
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I am a humanistic psychotherapist and I also offer cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-i). I currently have spaces for insomnia clients only.
CBT-i: I help sleep deprived people to fall asleep faster, reduce problematic night wakings, and overcome sleep anxiety - freeing themselves from being preoccupied with sleep across the 24 hour cycle. I am a former insomniac myself and re-trained in CBTi after benefitting from its transformative effects in my own life.
Keep reading to learn more about how CBT-i with me may be able to help you too.
CBT-i: I will help you to improve your sleep by reducing your sleep anxiety and develop lasting strategies to regulate and improve your sleep/ wake rhythm across the 24 hour period, without resorting to medication. After screening for possible co-morbidities (other health problems affecting your sleep) I offer a structured approach that is tailored to you.
Insomnia is understood as:
- Difficulty falling asleep;
- Difficulty waking up and struggling to get back to sleep;
- Waking up too early or too late;
- Tiredness during waking hours because of poor quality sleep;
- . . .and typically, a combination of these.
CBT-i is the insomnia treatment of choice within the NHS and NICE guidelines. It has over 30 years of robust evidence and longitudinal research demonstrating its effectiveness, with new data being discovered all the time.
My approach is non-pharmacological, and combines insomnia treatment with my humanistic background, to offer a holistic service. I quickly realised that CBT-i's very effective but formulaic approach can feel quite cold and clinical, and so I developed a method that meets you with warmth and curiosity also. Yes there is paperwork, and yes there are short exercises between sessions, but my relational approach also contextualises your insomnia within your wider life and relationships. I will be interested in the whole of you, not just your insomnia symptoms - and I will invite you to do the same.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a UKCP Reg Gestalt Psychotherapist with a Masters in psychotherapy. I am also undertaking additional training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for insomnia (including at the SCNi - the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at Oxford University, and inpatient consultation with Dr Donn Posner, assoc. prof. at the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Sciences, Stanford University).
I gained my Masters in Gestalt Psychotherapy in 2015. I also work for various charities running therapeutic weaving for wellbeing groups for people with mental health difficulties.
Before becoming a therapist I worked for over ten years in mental health and addiction services including prisons and probation, the charity sector, and in women's services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
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 UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
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
£80.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
- Initial 20 min phone consultation (free).
- I am registered with Axa and Vitality.
- One third of my client slots are low-cost. Once these are full, my other slots are a flat rate of £80 per weekly session.
When I work
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My 1:1 therapy work is from 7am - 3pm Tuesday to Friday.
