Dr Lauren Sayers

Verified Professional Verified Professional
Verified Professional

Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.

she/her
DClinPsy, C.Psychol, AFBPsS, PG Psych Dip., LLB (Hons)
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

Northampton NN6 & Milton Keynes MK3
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

My name is Dr Lauren Sayers. I'm a chartered clinical psychologist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). I'm also an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS). I have a professional interest in working with those who have experienced trauma in their lives, or who may be experiencing mental health difficulties as a result of transgenerational trauma resulting from trauma or abuse in the family generations before you. I also specialise in working with women in professional or senior roles within organisations, including doctors and healthcare professionals. 

I am trained in a range of different gold-standard, evidence-based therapies that I have sought out training in to develop my professional toolkit so I can be the best help possible to the people I work with and care about. Some of the therapies I am confident in using, and find work exceptionally well for the people I help, include eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and schema therapy.

My clients are often individuals seeking support for a wide range of mental health difficulties including anxiety, depression, eating, personality, or post traumatic stress difficulties (PTSD). Many of these problems are often associated with past and current adverse or traumatic life events, although I find many people who come to see me don't consider these past events to be significant or important enough to explain why they might struggle now. I believe that we live in a society that doesn't always allow us to validate the reasons behind our struggles, and instead demands prematurely that we find ways to resolve our problems too quickly. This can lead to a lot of pressure, thoughts of failure and feelings of shame and self blame when things don't change for the long-term. 

I am also the fortunate founder of our team at Serendipity Psychology which consists of professionally registered, highly qualified psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors and occupational therapists working across Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Milton Keynes, London, Brighton, Sheffield and many areas of the UK. My team has been built on a number of core values:

1) To build more equal access for all to independent mental health services. This means we try hard to build packages of support and care for all needs, even the more complex ones. We developed this value as we recognised that many independent services wouldn't accept people presenting with more complex or urgent mental health needs. When we considered this further, we realised that it can be a lonely place to work as an individual therapist in independent practice and many simply don't want to offer clients support when they can't then contain and hold their difficulties by themselves. This led to my team and I committing to a second value:

2) Collaborative working within a team prepared to share skills and support one another. This means that all our team members have signed up to supporting each other in the work they do. When someone in our team might be stuck or needs some support to do the best they can by their client, we are confident that there is someone else in our team who will have some ideas that will help and that they will share them. Many of our team are among top specialists in the country and we have been able to learn so much from them through team forums and ongoing communication within our team. 

3) Highest quality, evidence-based care 

In this, my team aspire to deliver exceptional, personalised psychological treatment and care to our clients throughout the time they need us. We offer a range of specialist support and pathways of care, including a lower-fee pathway for those who may struggle to access independent therapy because of the cost. For information on any of our pathways, please get in touch and we can talk to you about them. 

All the work my team offers is collaborative and supported within our company. I only work with professionals who I am confident in and believe to be exceptionally capable at what they do. We always seek client feedback about everyone who works with us so we know how best to grow and develop ourselves in line with the needs of the people we work with. 

For further information:

For more information about starting therapy with me, or with someone from our team at Serendipity Psychology, and to book a consultation please contact Serendipity Psychology today.

We offer a free initial online or telephone meeting with our wonderful practice manager, Karen, who will be able to talk you through the options and consider what your needs are. 

Whether you’re looking for individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy or parenting support, Serendipity Psychology can help you today, offering online & face-to-face sessions.

Training, qualifications & experience

Qualifications and Training:

I have a doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) as well as a degree in Law and masters level qualification in Psychology. I am also a qualified counsellor and psychotherapist. 

I have attended further extensive professional training in specific therapeutic models such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), schema therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT),  dyadic developmental psychotherapy (DDP) and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR). I am also a trained expert witness and have training and experience of assessment for those who may have autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 

My team also have high training and qualification levels and have chosen to develop their skillset in a range of specialist, evidence-based therapies. 


Experience:
I have held many different professional and specialist roles within psychology including working with the Priory Group, St Andrew's Healthcare and NHS mental health services.

For details about me, or any of our therapists, please see our website for further information relating to individual profiles and for regularly updated information about mental health:

www.serendipitypsychology.co.uk

Member organisations

Registered / Accredited

Registered / Accredited

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.

BPS
British Psychological Society (BPS)

British Psychological Society

HCPC
Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.

They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.

Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.

NCPS
National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS)

The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society

This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations.

In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

Accredited register membership

National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society
Accredited Register Scheme

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.

National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society

Areas of counselling I deal with

Other areas of counselling I deal with


Specialist services
:
While we have experience and training in each of the above indicated areas, our particular a
reas of specialism include:

  • Borderline and other personality difficulties and disorders
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and trauma
  • Autistic Spectrum conditions such as Autism and Aspergers, including diagnosis
  • Anxietyarrow-10x10.png conditions, including OCD, health anxiety and Generalised Anxiety Disorder
  • Depression, low mood and Bipolar Disorder
  • Stress and burnout
  • Grief, loss and bereavement
  • Relationship problems and relationship breakdown (couples therapy)
  • Self harm, eating disorders and other life threatening behaviour
  • Anger management
  • Gender identity and transition issues

We welcome further discussion regarding any difficulties you may have and invite you to contact us with any queries. We look forward to hearing from you.

Fees

£45.00 - £120.00
Free initial telephone or online session

Concessions offered for

  • Low income
  • Keyworkers
  • OAPs
  • Students
  • Trainee counsellors
  • Unemployed
  • Refugees

Health Insurance/EAP

  • BUPA
  • Axa Health
  • Health Assured
  • Aviva
  • Saga
  • Vitality
  • WPA
  • Cigna

Additional information

We have a structured fee schedule that is determined by the level of experience, skillset, qualification and training of different team members.

Fee range examples:

£45 Lower-fee service

£80 Counselling & psychotherapy service 

£110 Specialist mental health practitioner-led service

£120 Psychologist service 

For fees relating to case management, local authority, legal, corporate and insurance cases, please enquire separately. 

Our fees are competitive with other therapy services and subsidised sessions are available upon enquiry. 

Appointments:
Daytime, weekend and evening appointments are available.

Venues:
Sessions would either be held at one of our comfortable consulting rooms or clinics around Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Milton Keynes and other locations around the UK, or online. It is also sometimes possible for arrangements to be made for us to travel to those who would feel more at ease at home and you are confident that your sessions are held in a quiet and private venue so you can speak freely and feel reassured that any information shared is not overheard. 

When I work

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

Available daytimes and evenings, face-to-face, on the phone and online.

Further information

Session length:
Sessions are usually an 50 minutes long and are planned with you to ensure they suit your needs. These are flexible and booked on an individual basis or in advance as a course of sessions.

The length of therapy:
This can be adapted to meet short and longer-term goals, depending on your individual needs and preferences. This can be as short as a few targeted sessions or longer term.

Confidentiality:
Confidentiality is uppermost and central to our working practice; everything you share with us will remain confidential according to the British Psychological Society's (BPS) and the National Counselling Society' (NCS) codes of conduct. This means that unless there are serious concerns about your safety or the safety of others, your information will only be shared in confidential, clinical supervision in which you remain anonymous.

Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN6

Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK3

Type of session

In person
Online
Phone
Home visits

Types of client

Children
Young people
Adults
Older adults
Couples
Families
Groups
Organisations
Employee Assistance Programme

Key details

DBS check

In England and Wales, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly known as CRB) carry out criminal records checks for individuals working with vulnerable groups, such as children. To find out more, visit gov.uk , or contact this professional directly

Wheelchair user access
Wheelchair user access

Wheelchair-accessible premises should have step-free access for wheelchair users and individuals who are unable to climb stairs. If a Counsellor's premises aren't step-free, they may offer alternative services such as telephone/web-based appointments, home visits, or meeting clients in different location, so you can choose the option that suits you best.

You can contact the Counsellor to discuss the options available.

Under the Equality Act 2010 service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access their service. You can read more about reasonable adjustments to help you to access services on the CAB website.

Online platforms

Microsoft Spaces
Skype
Whatsapp
Zoom

Supervision

In person
Online
Phone

Our psychologists have received training in professional supervision from a number of excellent healthcare and academic institutions such as Oxford and Leicester University.

View supervision profile

Social