Lisa | Counsellor

Counselling Chatham

Hello, and thanks for reading my profile.

I’ll work with you in an emotionally safe way.  I’ll listen to you without judgment. And I’ll help you to navigate your way through your difficulties by helping you to gain clarity and identify your needs and goals.

Together we’ll spot any feelings, thoughts and behaviours that are making life difficult for you. We’ll explore do-able coping mechanisms that will work for you personally.

I make use of a diverse range of counselling theories and practice in my work.  No counselling approach is ‘one size fits all’ because each and every one of us is complex and different. We’ll work together to explore ways you as a unique individual can change or adapt your thinking, behaviours, communication and ideas so that whatever difficulties you are facing will diminish and become more manageable and less daunting.

You will be heard and understood with empathy and without judgment. This is very important, but I’m not a counsellor who believes solely in the power of listening and supporting. Experience has shown me that clients need to understand themselves and how they relate to others, as well as their own motives, needs and goals in a way which has real meaning in their day-to-day lives and to find ways to bring about recognisable and positive change which works for them.

I draw on elements of these approaches:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy/CBT (working with your thoughts).

Psychoanalysis (working with the unconscious to understand how current thoughts, feelings and behaviours relate to the past, particularly during the early years).

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy/DBT - working with difficult emotions.

Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) - working with different parts of the self to bring about healing of the wounded parts

Compassion Focused Therapy - working with compassion and self-compassion.

My work is always underpinned by principles of authenticity, respect and empathy which are the core conditions for success in Person-centred Therapy. 

You'll always take things at your own pace, and can rest assured that no matter what you bring to the therapy space, it will be respectfully accepted and understood.