Lesley MacKinnon

I'm currently able to offer sessions between 9am and 3pm week days. 

Choosing to see a therapist can feel scary and takes courage. The first stage in our working together would be to build a trusting relationship where you feel you can talk to me about what you think and feel.

I aim to provide a space where you can express fully who you are without fear of judgement. Often the experience of sharing closely held personal truths has a lifting effect and can leave you feeling less alone.

My approach is psychodynamic. This means we will work together to identify patterns in your feelings, thoughts, and behaviour.

We will look at your past, in particular your formative childhood experiences to see how they have shaped who you are today and how you feel. The past can have a profound effect on how we feel today and who we believe ourselves to be.

Often the truth about these formative experiences and what we feel about them are held outside our conscious awareness. They may be shaping who we are, however, we may not even know that these unconscious thoughts and memories are there. Keeping things unconscious is an understandable way of coping day to day, however, it is in rediscovering these truths that we find freedom and a new way forward.

Part of my role is to help support you as you express yourself, explore your feelings, and form a clearer picture of yourself. I aim to provide perspective, and insight and help you to identify links and patterns leading to emotional release and behavioral change.

Processing feelings about the past and getting some perspective on these experiences can help to shift how we feel about ourselves and our relationships today.

That being said, counselling and therapy are not all about the past. If you are seeking support, chances are that you have some pressing difficulties at the moment that you want help with right now. While we may be drawing on the past to enhance your self-understanding, this will be linked to the present day and things that are occurring in your life today.

Your therapy sessions are a safe space to explore and speak about your thoughts and feelings. To make the experience safe, a few guidelines need to be put in place. Here are some important features of your sessions.

Confidentiality:  

One of the most important features of your sessions is that they are confidential, which means that what you and I speak about won’t go any further than you and I.

Supervision:  

While your sessions are completely confidential, I’m required by my professional body to have regular clinical supervision. This requirement ensures that I work at high professional and ethical standards. Having supervision means that on occasion I may discuss aspects of our work with a colleague. Clinical supervision is also confidential to protect your privacy.

Consistency:  

Sessions are weekly and held at the same time. This consistency is important to keep the session for you as a reliable and trusted part of your week.

Boundaries:  

One way to keep the sessions consistent is to protect the therapy space with boundaries. One of the boundaries we put in place is that the session is the same duration each week. Each session will be 50 minutes long.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD):  

I’m committed to ongoing engagement in additional training to broaden my skill base and keep my knowledge current and relevant.

Ethical Framework:  

I adhere to the BACP ethical framework to ensure I’m practicing using the best possible professional standards and protecting my clients while we work together.

My Training:

• PPE MA (Oxon)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Studies at WPF Counselling and Roehampton University – Qualified 2007
• Post Qualifying Certificate in CBT Skills Awarded 2010
• MA in Psychodynamic Theory and Practice Roehampton University 2013

The first session will give you an idea of what the therapy sessions will be like going forward. It is an open space for you to speak with me about whatever is on your mind and whatever you want to bring that week.

During the first session, I will ask you questions when it’s appropriate to gather information and think about the best way forward.

It’s important that a therapeutic relationship is a good fit. So, this will be a time for you to consider if you feel I’m the right therapist for you. And also for me to think about whether this particular therapeutic approach is going to be most helpful for you at the moment.

We would also talk about some of the practicalities involved in attending counselling, such as what we would do if you can’t attend a session at your usual time.