Lesley Pollard

I work face to face in Ilkley all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The practice where I work is in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.

I also offer online appointments on Zoom - please feel free to get in touch regarding my current availability.

For many of us, reaching out for help can be hard. However, making that first step can be really positive.

I am an experienced Psychotherapist and work with people who are experiencing a range of difficulties including challenges from our childhood, trauma, depression, anxiety, stress, relationship difficulties, identity issues, difficulties with food and body image, work related problems, bereavement and loss.

I work with individuals over a short or long term period. It is often very difficult to predict how long therapy will last but we will agree an initial amount of sessions and then we review this on a regular basis. The relationship between the therapist and the client is very important and I would recommend that you look around to find the right therapist for you.

I have completed four years of training in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy -  Advanced Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling.

Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling.

Teacher Training in Mindfulness Cognitive Therapy for Depression.

Mindfulness for Trauma and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Course.

BA (Hons) SW.

Post Graduate Certificate in Applied Mental Health.

I offer a warm, friendly and empathic approach in which you can begin to gently explore some of the issues that are bringing you to therapy.

The approach I use is called Transactional Analysis or TA for short. TA is a therapy that helps us understand our personality and our interactions with others. It also helps us understand why we feel, think and behave the way we do and helps us find alternative or more helpful ways to cope or manage situations.

Making the first contact can be difficult - this is completely normal and understandable. Please feel free to email me if you have any question or query and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can.

To get started, I meet you for an initial assessment session. This gives me the opportunity to see if I can support you effectively and that I would be of help to you. More importantly, for you, the initial session can give you the “feel” of what therapy would be like and to see if you feel comfortable working with me. From here, you may decide to go ahead and if this is the case, we agree a contract to work together.