Suzi Byrne

October 2021: 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 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.