Natasha Leahy

I have limited availability at the moment. 

My working days are:

Mon: 9am-12pm

Weds: 9am-3pm

Fri: 9am-3pm

My name is Natasha and I am the face behind Karuna Therapeutic Services. I am a neurodivergent psychotherapeutic counsellor who passionately believes that healing is not only possible but probable with the right supportive relationship. This is what I hope to bring to those I support through the work that I do. The feedback that I have received from those whom I have worked with have said that they feel that I am "relatable" and "genuine" and feel that my "personality" comes into the room and that they have found this "refreshing". I am not a blank wall therapist, I believe the relationship we develop is the agent for healing.

My overall approach is non-pathologising and anti-oppressive. I believe that distress and trauma are held within the body and that we need to connect and calm the body before we can access the mind. I work using body/mind practices, I am also a breathwork coach, so I have an array of tools and techniques to support clients in feeling safe and connected. I am also trained in trauma reprocessing techniques such as Flash, Rewind and Emotional Freedom Techniques. 

My specialism is working with late-identified and high masking autistic adults. Being an autistic person in an allistic world creates a lifetime of trauma and distress. In my work with autistic adults I support them to unpack their experiences and identity using a neuroaffirmative approach. Autism is a passionate interest of mine alongside trauma and abuse. The clients I work with benefit from a wealth of knowledge, lived experience and a wide range of therapeutic skills to support them in their return to self. 

Healing and recovery from distress/trauma is not only possible but probable. How do I know that? I have experienced it, and witnessed it with those who I have helped. I will not give you false promises, and say it is easy. It is not. It can take time, but it is worth every moment, because you are! When you heal from the past you can accept the present and embrace the future.

Karuna Therapeutic Services works within the three-phase trauma model for safe and effective trauma treatment. In the initial session we will collaborate and discuss your needs, goals and aspirations, this information will inform the individualised plan we will come up to help you heal from your trauma. Karuna Therapeutic Services firmly believes that trauma and traumatic experiences, are a spectrum and affect each person in individual ways therefore, therapy needs to be flexible and sensitive to these individual needs and goals. The most fundamental work within trauma therapy is to promote your sense of safety and balance before we move towards processing of thought, feelings and experiences.

Being somatically trained means that I have an array of  strategies and techniques to draw upon to help even the most complex of trauma, I have worked with many people who have received medicalised identifications of Personality Disorders , PTSD and/or Complex PTSD. My approach is to work within a non-pathologising and anti-oppressive way, to centre your experiences of what has happened to you and how it has impacted on your relationships to self, others and the world. When you feel sufficiently safe and wish to process your trauma memories then we can use the trauma memory reprocessing techniques. I am trained in the Flash Technique, Rewind Technique and Emotional Freedom Techniques. By the end of our time together you will be resourced to use your knowledge of trauma, it effects and a multitude of techniques and strategies to practice to help bring about a sense of safety and calm whenever you need it. 

In January 2025 I will be starting an Autistic Discovery & Me: Therapeutic Support Group. It is a therapeutic support group aimed at adult who are questioning whether they may be autistic. Over 10 weeks I will provide a space for with information and gentle activities designed to help facilitate self-exploration. Visit my website for more details and sign up for updates. 

Prior to the first session we will usually have had an introductory chat where I would be wanting to discover your needs and desires for therapy. In our first session I will begin by asking some questions to ensure you are in the right space to commence therapy. I will also want to check to see that the issues you initially brought is still what you want to focus on. I am led by my client's however,  if I do feel that by talking about distressing events that a client becomes emotionally dysregulated then I will stop proceedings and help bring my client back to an emotional place of safety. 

Client safety is paramount for me, as a therapist. Trauma therapy does not need to be traumatising. Trauma can be processed in a safe and minimally distressing way. From the first session I usually share some psychoeducation around the nervous system and how feelings of distress manifest in the body. I will also start introducing some somatic calming techniques that can be used and practiced when distress comes about. 

I offer concessionary rates for student counsellors at £30 for online only.