Lucy Ward
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
Therapy is a time and space in your week where you can talk to a professional about what is concerning you. If you are experiencing anxiety or depression; if you are struggling with relationships and would like to make sense of what is affecting you; if you feel like you don't know what is wrong and you would like someone to talk to, therapy is a safe and confidential way for you to voice and understand your thoughts, feelings and experiences.
I offer a non-judgemental, empathic space in which we can work through your issues together.
It can feel difficult and isolating when you're stuck in unhelpful patterns of thinking, behaving and relating. Talking with me could bring some relief from that stuckness. Contact me to discuss open-ended talking therapy or short-term if preferred.
My approach
My approach is trauma-informed: we’ll work at a pace that feels manageable, exploring the impact of things that may have happened to you, past or present, or feelings that you've been experiencing that may have led you to seek help. We'll meet at the same time, on the same day each week and I will listen attentively while you tell your story.
Psychodynamic thinking underpins my approach. Therefore counselling with me offers the opportunity to explore in some depth the possible unconscious and early relational roots of difficulties that you may be experiencing or ways in which you try to cope that are no longer working for you.
There's an emphasis on communicating the feelings that you are experiencing, both within and outside of the counselling relationship. We’ll notice and wonder together what might be developing or happening and what that might tell us about you and your relationship patterns. Through this process, change can come about that has the potential to last and therefore help you in the longer term.
If you have confused thoughts and feelings around whether or not to go through a process of diagnosis - of ADHD, for example - counselling can be a supportive space in which to gain some clarity.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a qualified and experienced British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Registered counsellor. I therefore work to the standards set out in the BACP Ethical Framework for counsellors and undertake regular supervision and continuous professional development.
Qualifications
Diploma in Psychotherapeutic counselling (Psychodynamic) (BACP Accredited course)
Certificate in Psychodynamic Counselling (BACP Accredited course)
Certificate in Counselling and Counselling Skills (Birkbeck college, University of London)
Experience
Alongside my private practice, I spent several years counselling for Chichester Counselling Service. I was employed as a mentor to trainee therapists at the same not-for-profit organisation.
My background includes two decades of working in community-based services focused on helping people with a wide range of psychological and emotional difficulties to cope with adversity and to change their 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
Fees
£50.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
When I work
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Further information
Please email or call with any questions you may have and so that we can arrange to meet for an initial session. This will be in Rustington or Littlehampton - both rooms have plenty of parking options. Alternatively, we can arrange to meet online via Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
I offer in person, online or telephone therapy.
