Suzi Byrne

October 2020: At present I am unable to take on any new clients, and will update my listing when this changes.

I offer a calm, non-judgmental space for you to talk through whatever issues you may be struggling with. I believe that is most important in counselling is to find a person with whom you can build a good relationship. Counselling with me moves at your pace, and it will always be your choice to decide what we talk about in any session. I believe in giving each of my clients the time and space to explore things in a way which feels useful, safe and under their control.

I will not tell you how I think you should do, what you should feel or what you should do differently. I believe that there are many things in the world which are far more powerful than simply giving someone my advice. For that reason, I aim to help you reach your own conclusions. I will be as engaged in the process as you are, but I take my lead from you. I may ask questions, or share my impressions of what you are telling me. I won’t send you away with homework tasks or lists to fill in. Ultimately I believe that the way forward is yours alone, and the work of therapy is for us to work together to help you find it.

I left my previous career as a solicitor in the public sector, partly to seek more meaningful work, but also because I had a growing feeling that there were important aspects of myself which were being squashed. The experience of feeling those parts of me come back to life has given me a real interest in issues of identity, how we define who we are and how our identities change during our lives. My own experiences of living with chronic pain as a child and young adult have also given me a deeply felt personal and professional interest in working with people dealing with pain and illness.

I work from my quiet room in central Lancaster, which is easy to find and offers free parking. It is also near bus routes and only a 10 minute walk from Lancaster train station.