Christopher Arridge

I am available for appointments during the day on Wednesdays and Fridays.  Weekend and evening appointments are may occasionally be available be special arrangement.

I am a counsellor and psychotherapist available to see clients face-to-face in a warm, comfortable space in Lancaster with free parking and easy access to bus routes.

In a counselling relationship I place great importance on accepting you as you are, on warmth, and on human connection. As a professional counsellor and psychotherapist I follow a set of moral guiding principles in my therapeutic work and I will always try to act in your best interests.

I see my job as trying as best as I can to get to know what it's like to be you, to have experienced the things you have, to feel the things you feel, and to be alongside you as we explore the memories, experiences and thoughts that cause you distress, pain, and also happiness. It's my job to help shine a light on things that might be difficult for you to see clearly. It's my job to go with you to the places that are difficult for you to go to alone. It's my job to hear the words and try to sense the feelings you can't express anywhere else. I never want you to feel alone during the moments we spend together, nor do I want you to feel like I'm intruding. I want you to be free to go to the places that you need to go to for your own healing and self-exploration.  You decide what you want to explore at any time.

I am a "Humanistic" counsellor. Humanistic therapies are powered by self-discovery, free will, and finding and releasing the power for change that lies within us.  The foundation of my work is "person centred".

From the perspective of a Humanistic therapist, you, as the client, are the expert on yourself. This contrasts with other therapies where the counsellor is the expert. Where I am an expert is in having the experience to get as close as I can to knowing and feeling what it is like to be you and to experience what you experience. It is my job to be a close companion, to not leave your side in a therapeutic sense, and not to get in the way of your process of self-discovery and change. This doesn't mean to say that I will just nod away in the corner while you talk! I hope you will experience me as an active and present companion.

I understand that going to see a counsellor for the first time can be difficult and uncomfortable — even if you've had therapy before.  I believe that the relationship between counsellor and client is very important and so your first appointment with me would be free.  This time is an opportunity for us to get to know each other, for you to find out how it feels to talk to me, to explore what you would like to get from therapy, and so we can establish if we can and would like to work together.  There is no obligation to make a decision at our first meeting.  If you decide you would like to start therapy with me then we will agree a fee for each session, how many sessions we will start with, and how often we will meet.