Paul Skinner

There are many reasons you may be considering counselling but I imagine you are seeking healing and/or change.

I offer a warm, supportive space for you to freely explore who you are, what you need and uncomfortable experiences such as anxiety or depression. 

We move at your pace and I am not here to judge or diagnose you. Counselling is not only about what we think about our ourselves but more importantly, our felt sense of who we are.

Believing that each person is a unique individual and there is no one set path through life means that each relationship I develop with a client is unique and collaborative. Counselling is a process that gives space, awareness and understanding for you to discover who you are and what you need for growth, healing and change.

I work in-person from a comfortable room in the centre of Lewes or online. My fees are £55 or £45 per 50 minutes respectively but I am open to concessions which can be discussed in a free online assessment session. 

I am a humanistic integrative counsellor. This means I pull from more than one theory into one cohesive way of working.

The core of my practice is anchored in the non-directive humanistic stance that there is no one 'right' path through life other than the path your own inner compass reveals to you and there is no one you 'should be', other than who you are. An aspect of counselling can be exploring the tension between who we think we should be and the felt sense of who we are. I draw from the theories of Carl Rogers (Person-Centred Theory) and Eugene Gendlin (Focusing-Orientated Therapy). 

I believe there is a transpersonal aspect to life, meaning that I believe there is more to us than our sense of 'I' and what/who our logical, conscious minds tell us of ourselves. Intuition, felt sense, imagination, fantasies, dreams and creativity are all aspects of being a person which can reveal a more whole sense of who we are. I integrate a Jungian perspective of self (Carl Jung / Analytical Psychology) as a way to navigate and explore these deeper aspects and experiences. 

I am open to working with those that have a religious or spiritual faith/belief and those that are experiencing a crisis/loss of faith and or an existential crisis. I am also open to working with those that are either diagnosed or feel they may be ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder).

Unarguably the most important element of counselling’s effectiveness is the relationship. By building this together it provides the transformative and healing space for you to discover a more whole sense of who you are and what you value most.

I work open-ended, with your goals in mind and at your pace. I am here to accompany and support you through this part of your journey that you may be finding difficult. 

I offer a free online assessment session because starting counselling can be a daunting step and I believe it is helpful for some to have a non-obligatory opportunity to get a sense of the space and working together. 

This free session of 50 minutes will consist of me asking you some general questions and time for you to explore what brings you to counselling and what you hope to get from it. It will give you a sense of me, how I work and you are more than welcome to ask any questions you may have. There is no obligation to commit to future sessions, it is important you find the right counsellor for you.