Individual Therapy
I help people whose lives have become restricted by overwhelm, anxiety, sadness or regret to start living with spontaneity and emotional balance and in line with what matters most to them.
Is this you?
Many of my clients know what’s important to them; what values, passions and interests drive them; and what they are grateful for. But they are also aware that uncomfortable emotions often stop them from being truly at ease with themselves, others and the life they want to be leading. They may look like they’re thriving but in fact they get regularly caught up in patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that take them over and leave them feeling out of control, powerless and frustrated, even depressed.
If this is you, you may recognise that some of the following feature rather more often in your life than you feel comfortable with:
fear and anxiety
stress and overwhelm
sadness and loss
regret and shame
painful relationships with family, friends and colleagues
self-doubt and self-criticism
anger and irritability
You may have been struggling emotionally all your life; or perhaps you’re going through a particular life stage or circumstances that have brought on your emotional turmoil. Whichever of these is true, you’ve had enough, and want a life in which you feel emotionally balanced, and more spontaneous and at ease with yourself, other people and the wider world; a life that allows you to be fully present and with plenty of energy to give the people, activities and causes you love.
🍃Imagine if…
You could live your life without worrying or fearing that you’ll get stopped in your tracks by the emotional stresses you regularly experience.
You could enjoy better relationships with others and a kinder relationship with yourself.
You had more energy and emotional bandwidth for your family and friends, and the hobbies, pastimes and other activities that you love doing and you wish you had more time for.
You could learn to not only manage the emotional downturns you regularly experience but disentangle and free yourself from them so they aren’t a regular feature of daily life.
🍃My therapy approach may be for you, if…
🍃 you want a therapy approach rooted in sound psychological knowledge and skills, that draws on your full sense of being human - body, mind, heart and hands
🍃 being in the natural world feels intuitively healing for you and you would like to experience therapy in the woods with nature as co-therapist
🍃 you are open to exploration through movement, play, imagery and metaphor, and artwork
🍃 you want to learn how to develop and trust your intuition so that you can be self-guided in making the right choices for you within and beyond your time in therapy
My approach is eclectic and holistic, and is based on helping you:
learn how your senses, your emotions and your nervous system combine to control how you ‘meet’ the world
connect to your experience of the world through body awareness practices and movement
access the wisdom and intuition of your creative unconscious that will help you make sense of your experiences
notice how the natural world offers opportunities for experiential learning as a model and a mirror
release the emotional impact of difficult experiences, memories and long-held beliefs about yourself through integrated eye movement technique (IEMT)
The work is collaborative, supportive, and paced according to your needs.
🍃 The Relationship
Coming to therapy is an act of courage, self-respect, and kindness. The relationships we develop with others from a very young age have a significant part to play in who we are and who we have become - with their negative and positive impacts. The relationship that you as my client and I as your therapist build together is an important part of your process of self-discover, change and healing. My role is to listen, support, encourage and guide you. And sometimes, challenge you. Your role is simply to be yourself as you are and share what feels important when you are ready.
🍃Why Change Feels So Hard
Emotional ups and downs are an important and essential part of being human. They play a role in our survival, decision making processes and social interactions and help us to navigate life’s challenges. However, when we are burdened by persistent emotional patterns which hinder rather than help our path through life, then it may be time to address them with the support of someone who is trained to offer psychological support, such as a therapist.
In therapy, change is an organic process - it’s not about following strategies, instructions or guidance. As therapy progresses you will notice that you are beginning to respond to situations that previously felt emotionally fraught with a lighter, calmer approach. You’ll feel less stressed and emotionally entangled and you can give more of your time to the people, activities and causes that are important to you.
If you've been living with anxiety, sadness, overwhelm, shame and self-criticism , you may think it’s too difficult or even impossible to change the emotional patterns that you’ve carried for many years or even a lifetime. You might even have some resistance to change - perhaps it will require you to alter something fundamental about who you are.
In some ways this is true. Over our lifetime and often rooted in early childhood, we develop ways of coping with what life throws at us, which may not always be healthy or helpful. This isn’t our fault. Those patterns of feeling, thinking and behaving have been our way of surviving emotionally, socially and even sometimes physically.
Therapy can help us to:
honour who we are and how we’ve got here
explore and makes sense of how we think, feel and behave
be supported as we connect with difficult truths
heal and liberate the parts of us that are emotionally stuck in past experiences and relational dynamics
strengthen and celebrate the parts of us that we like and that form the unique and special human beings that we are
achieve emotional balance as we act with confidence from our new, strengthened sense of ourselves
If you’re ready to gift yourself the chance to live a life that feels easier, more emotionally balanced and in line with who you enjoy being, let’s have a chat. I offer a 20-minute initial conversation where we can begin to explore whether my approach feels right for you. There is no obligation to take it forward after this. I won’t be pushing you to ‘book that first session’; you’re in charge and can take the time to think about whether we’re a good fit. You can even have a couple of trial sessions if you’re still unsure.
So book yourself an appointment, grab yourself a cuppa and let’s talk.
🍃Ready to take the next step?
"I had just 5 sessions with Lucinda after a series of extremely stressful events had left me feeling panicky and anxious. I felt stuck in a loop, unable to make objective decisions. Her calm approach and ability to make me look at the person I really am has opened my mind to a different way of thinking and encouraged me to push my boundaries. Working outdoors was different and special; it took me back to my childhood and reminded me of how restful and restorative nature can be."
Sally, 43 years old