Jennifer Lucas

Current availability:

Mondays: 10-12

Thursdays: 13:30-21:00

Currently I can offer video sessions via MS teams or telephony sessions

I am an integrative counsellor, so combine different therapy modalities that suit each person best.

I am trained as an integrative counsellor and my favourite approaches are; attachment theory, psychodynamic (looking at patterns and unconscious processes and bringing them into conscious awareness), person-centred (an open space for the client to lead), transactional analysis (where we look at relationships and break down interactions to see what’s going on) and schema therapy approaches (looking at deeply held beliefs each individual holds ie. feeling worthless).

I'm a qualified EMDR (eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy) therapist. EMDR is suitable for individuals that are experiencing PTSD symptoms or would like to reduce emotional distress related to past memories. It can also be a really helpful therapy for those that experience cPTSD (complex trauma) as a result of chronic abuse (emotional, physical, sexual) during childhood. EMDR is more of a “doing” therapy than a “talking” therapy. It’s quite structured and aims to reduce distress faster than a counselling approach.

I'm a qualified IPT (interpersonal) therapist. The main theory underlying IPT is that depression is always linked to relationships. IPT focuses on 4 main areas: complicated grief (loss of a relationship), role transition (a change in identity or life role ie. from employed to retired or well to unwell), role dispute (big dispute with one person), or relationship disharmony (finding it hard to get close to people, maintain relationships, relationship difficulties that keep happening in a repetitive cycle). We would usually focus on one of these areas in depth.

I am also trained in ADepT therapy, which focuses on wellbeing rather than the negatives. This can sound quite invalidating, but people that are depressed can often feel anxious about the idea of feeling happy. ADepT focuses on building/training the wellbeing muscle so people can tolerate feeling positive emotions.

I would describe my practice as a warm, open, non-judgemental and a safe space for clients to use how they would like.

The areas I love to work with the most are: complex PTSD, childhood trauma or with individuals that have been diagnosed with a personality disorder. I really enjoy working with codependency, attachment or love addiction issues and people that struggle with understanding their identity and low self-esteem.

Usually, I like to spend the first few sessions building a timeline of life events from birth to now with each person. That can sound quite daunting, however it is really helpful to understand each client's life context because it contributes to how things are now. Ultimately, the client has full control and we don't have to do this if they don't want to.

After this, the client can let me know how they would like to use sessions. We could use sessions as an open space to talk, we could focus on particular goals and look at skills-learning. We could focus specifically on EMDR or IPT if the client is facing particular difficulties or use a combination of these approaches.

I believe that clients should be able to take something tangible away from therapy, whether that's a stronger sense of self, stronger boundaries, greater self-awareness or a reduction in distress etc. For this reason, I may suggest different skills/interventions that I think may be a good fit for the client - but again each client has full autonomy as to what they would like to focus on in therapy.

I offer time-limited therapy which is often around 16 sessions for a full episode of treatment and I also offer longer-term therapy.

I offer an initial session at a discounted rate to give each person the chance to see how they feel in-session with me.

Finding a therapist is like finding a good shoe, it has to be a good fit. You have to feel as comfortable as possible!