Andrew Lacey

As your counsellor (or “therapist”) I support you to resolve sometimes painful issues from the past that may be holding you back, help you deal with your feelings and emotions, and ultimately gain an improved sense of wellbeing.

Integrating a range of approaches, I offer a broad counselling/therapy to help with issues such as grief, bereavement and loss; anger; stress, anxiety and depression; shame and low self-esteem; and relationships and family issues. In addition, I specialise in working with clients who:

• are in recovery from addiction, eating disorders and “co-dependency”
• were abused or neglected as children or who grew up in “dysfunctional” families
• are struggling with or exploring issues of sexuality, identity and intimacy.

Coaching

Do you want to feel more positive about the life that you lead? Make some big change? Perhaps take on a new challenge?

Coaching helps you achieve the results you want in your life. The focus is on getting really clear what it is you want and then identifying the steps you need to take to realise your full potential. This could be about any aspect of life … landing your dream job; finding the work-life balance that suits you; improving the quality of your relationships; or daring to have a go at something you’ve always longed to do but told yourself you couldn’t!

As your coach, my role is not to give you answers, but to ask the right questions so that you find your own answers. Some people prefer to go out walking on the seafront rather than sit in a room, and that’s fine by me! While supportive and encouraging I can also be challenging. Coaching is action-oriented and usually short-term (typically four to six sessions over a few weeks or a couple of months – but there is no hard-and-fast rule).

Integrated coaching-therapy

Blending counselling/therapy with coaching brings together the depth of therapy along with a focus on your strengths and potential to thrive despite challenging circumstances. As a dual-trained practitioner, I’m very comfortable working in this integrated way.

Couples therapy / relationship counselling

All close relationships have their ups and downs. There are so many pressures on our lives and on our time – from family to finances, from children to communication – that many couples can struggle and go through difficult times. Couples counselling (also known as couples therapy or relationship counselling) provides a safe and supportive space to explore and better understand what’s happened, learn to communicate more effectively, reconnect emotionally and figure out if it’s possible to create a happier and healthier relationship going forward. I am equally comfortable counselling same-sex couples as heterosexual couples. I also offer relationship counselling in other contexts, for example between family members, friends, flat-mates or work colleagues.

About me

I am a gay man living in a long-term intercultural relationship with my Polish partner.

I was adopted as a very young baby, grew up feeling I had to hide my sexuality, and by my late teens had developed an eating disorder.

While living in New York in my late 20s, I got into therapy to help me deal with not only my eating and body image but also abandonment, attachment, identity and intimacy issues. I also started working a 12-step programme for compulsive eating and was introduced to Buddhist meditation. This led to me returning to the UK to trace my birth family, with whom I now have a very good relationship.

Having benefited immensely myself from therapy, in my early 30s I trained in London as a psychotherapeutic counsellor and worked in private practice in London for ten years before moving to Brighton.

In parallel with my counselling and coaching career, I’ve also had considerable professional experience in PR, corporate communications and learning & development. When I lived in Brighton, I ran my own PR business and later became programme director for the Brighton & Hove branch of international leadership development charity Common Purpose. Most recently I spent four years as part-time communications manager with the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust in Exeter.

Voluntary work has included: “befriending” asylum seekers in a London refugee centre; being a trustee of Mankind UK, a national charity offering therapy and other support to male survivors of sexual abuse; and for the past eight years I have been a trustee of Gaia House, a retreat centre near Newton Abbot offering silent meditation retreats in the Buddhist tradition.

Our young Jack Russell “Toby” is super-friendly. He doesn’t like being left in the house while I’m seeing clients face-to-face in the annexe, so he often sits in with me in sessions – but only with your prior agreement, of course!

Find out more

Please see my Q+A page with answers to some common questions and Client testimonials to find out what previous clients have said about working with me.

Qualifications, professional membership and ethics

Counselling/therapy:

Fees

Individual Counselling or Coaching sessions: I charge £80.00 for 60-minute sessions.

Couples Counselling sessions: I charge £100.00 for 60-minute sessions.

I have a limited number of reduced-fee spaces for clients who cannot afford the standard fee.

Availability

Client sessions are on: Tuesday daytime /evening; Wednesday morning /evening; and Thursday morning /afternoon.

Taking the first step

I offer the option of a free 20-minute initial phone or Zoom consultation before booking a first session. Please contact me by phone, text or email if you are interested in the possibility of us working together. I look forward to hearing from you!

Contacting Andrew Lacey