Rob Lake
Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
We all have times when we feel life is not the way we would like it to be. Relationships, work, big life events like serious illness, losing a loved one, redundancy or retirement; or issues and events like climate change, politics or the general state of the world - all these can get us down, and sometimes make us feel we’ve lost our way. The voice inside us that tells us there’s hope and something to look forward to can become very faint; we may hear it but not know what it’s saying; we may stop hearing it altogether.
My approach to counselling starts with a belief that you can get back in touch with that voice. We can work together to listen to what it is saying so that you can change things in your life you want to change, come to terms with things that can’t be changed, and see your way forward more clearly.
As your counsellor my job is to listen, to do my best to understand, to see things from your perspective – and above all to have faith in you; to believe that you know what is best for you and that you can find a way through what is troubling you.
Counselling gives you an opportunity to explore what’s going on underneath the day-to-day busyness that occupies our minds most of the time. What do you really want and need? What’s right for you? How do other people and the rest of the world fit into that?
I’m trained in psychosynthesis – an approach to counselling that aims to integrate what can feel like different parts of ourselves (e.g. our ‘work self’ and our ‘life self’), and which stresses our connections with other people, the wider world and the mystery of life. As a counsellor I work with you to help you find meaning, balance and clarity. I hold theory lightly in the background, and put your life and experience in the foreground – your thoughts, feelings, anxieties, frustrations, hopes and aspirations.
We can work together online, or in person in Cambridge, UK.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have a Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Development - Psychosynthesis Counselling, awarded by the Psychosynthesis Trust. I also have a Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching, awarded by the Academy of Executive Coaching.
I have come to counselling after nearly 40 years working as a translator; in environmental and international development organisations; and in sustainable investment. I have worked in organisations large and small; in the public, voluntary and private sectors; and as a freelance consultant. I have lived in the UK, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and travelled widely in both my working and private life.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I do not think of people as 'problems' or 'labels'. I will work with you as a person, not a 'condition'. Whatever your circumstances, and whatever your goals, I will do my best to find a way to work with you. The best way to find out more about how I work is to contact me to arrange an initial phone conversation.
Fees
£60.00 - £75.00
Additional information
My fee is higher for working in person.
