Lucy Cruickshank

I currently have availability

My working hours are:  

Monday 2pm - 9pm

Tuesday 7pm - 9pm

Thursday 7pm-9pm

Saturday 10am - 4pm 

Forthcoming closures: Friday 17th November to Monday 4th December 

I'm Lucy and I'm here to help if you are struggling with stress, depression and anxiety or would like help to improve your self-confidence and self-esteem. I can also help if you have experienced a bereavement or the loss of something important to you such as a job or relationship or been affected by a life limiting illness. 

Stress, Anxiety and Depression

Stress, anxiety and depression can be debilitating, even scary, and there may be times when it seems you will never feel well again. You may find yourself worrying alot or having thoughts that go  constantly round in circles or you may be struggling to cope with everyday life and activities and finding it hard concentrate. In addition to mental pain you may also be experiencing physical pain such as panic attacks, headaches or muscular and joint pain. Stress, anxiety  and depression affect everyone differently and counselling can help you understand your unique experiences and develop strategies to help you make positive changes. 

Loss, Grief and Bereavement

From my work and my own personal experiences of loss I understand how hard it can be to make sense of the many thoughts and feelings it often generates. Talking to others about how you feel might be difficult for a number of reasons- you may not want to burden them or worry they won’t understand or feel the world has "moved on" and doesn't want to hear how you're still feeling.  Losing someone or something important may be causing you  additional difficulties such as loss of confidence, feelings of anxiety or struggling with your sense of identity and who you are now.  There is no right or wrong way to grieve, there is only your way and counselling can help by giving you someone to walk alongside you in your loss, to talk to about what has happened and help you reconnect with the world again. 

I hold an advanced diploma in integrative counselling which is a way of working that incorporates different counselling approaches in order to tailor our work to meet your individual needs. I am unable to give advice as I believe everyone has the ability to find their own answers and I will work in partnership with you to help you find them.

I also hold a level 5 in CBT which a counselling method that has been extensively and scientifically researched and found to be particularly helpful for helping people who are experiencing stress, anxiety and depression. It is a way of working which will help you make sense of your difficulties and develop strategies to manage or overcome them.

In addition, I have a certificate in Person Centred Art for people who would prefer to work creatively which can often be a very fast, powerful and insightful way of working. Drawing can also be an easier way of expressing or understanding our feelings than trying to find the right words and you don't have to be able to an artist to use this way of working if it's something you feel would be helpful to you.

I also hold Mindfulness Practioner Certificate and can work with Mindfulness techniques tailored to meet your needs and preferences which can be particularly helpful if you are feeling anxious or stressed.  

Types of Appointments

I offer flexible appointments as I understand some people would like long term weekly, fortnightly or monthly support while others would find just a few sessions helpful to them. Sessions can be by telephone, online or in person at the Dorset Practice in Poole's town centre. I also offer walk and talk sessions in and around Poole's beautiful Poole and Upton Parks and along Poole Quay and Baiter which in themselves can be very therapeutic  

Concessions

I offer concessions for trainee counsellors who are looking for personal therapy as part of their counselling training. 

On receipt of your enquiry,  I will initially contact you by telephone or email so we can arrange a date and time that's convenient to you for us to have an initial free of charge telephone call to talk about what you would like help with and what you would like to achieve from counselling. I will then explain the different ways I can work with you and answer any questions you may have so you can see how you feel about us working together. If you feel I can be of help to you we will then arrange our first session where we will explore in more detail what you would like help with and work together at your pace and in a way that feels right for you.  Before our first session, I may also send you an assessment form to complete to help me better understand your difficulties and tailor our work to meet your individual needs. 

If you would like to have walk and talk sessions, our first appointment would be an indoor in-person session so that we have the opportunity to meet each other.  Afterwards, I will complete a risk assessment of the area we will be walking and email this to you before our first walk and talk session. 

After each counselling session, I do sometimes makes brief notes to help me and these will be anonymised to maintain confidentiality. All notes are kept locked away and retained for a period of 5 years after which they will be securely destroyed. All other personal information I hold about you such as your name and contact details will be securely destroyed as soon as we finish working together.