Sue Lewis

I am an experienced and qualified counsellor and psychotherapist. I see people one-to-one in a confidential environment to talk about whatever troubles them.

What do people talk about?

Things such as…

Stress (work/home)

Unhappiness

Being stuck in unhelpful patterns in their lives

Bereavement

Relationship breakdown

Trauma

Childhood events


How does it work?

All good counselling and therapy offers an objective, neutral place to talk about anything that troubles you. My role is not to judge or give advice on what you should do, but to support you in your searching and occasionally challenge your thinking with questions and new perspectives.

I can help you to:

Make changes in your life

Make sense of your individual circumstances

Identify the choices you have for change

Be better equipped for the future

Increase your self-awareness

Acquire more independence

Deepen your experience of life

Counselling and therapy help you to see the patterns of behaviour that cause you problems; this may involve looking to family relationships, past and present. I am trained in Gestalt therapy which means I do not interprete what you’ve been through, but help you make your own sense and meaning from it. I work in a creative, holistic way, so if – for example – it would help you to draw your experience instead of putting it into words, I can help you with that. I also am trained in body-mind psychology, and believe that a lot of wisdom is held in our bodies which we can access to help us.


Counselling is usually short term (anything from 6 to 12 sessions), and focussed on a specific problem or issue that the person needs help with now. I see people who want to come privately; I am also linked with several Employee Assistance Schemes, where an employer will provide sessions for their employees. This means that I work with all sorts of people from all sorts of work.
Psychotherapy is usually longer term, and goes more deeply into the core issues that we all have. These may be related to childhood events, repeating life patterns that have outgrown their usefulness, or simply parts of your personality that you wish to change.

Training and qualifications

I have a Psychology degree and an MSc in Psychotherapy, which means that I am fully trained and qualified. I am a Member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (see www.bacp.co.uk) and accredited with the UK Council of Psychotherapy (see www.psychotherapy.org.uk).
I have been working as a counsellor and therapist since 1993.

The practicalities

I try to be flexible in my approach and adapt - where I can - to the requirements of the client. I usually see people weekly, for sessions that last 50 minutes at a time. I usually suggest we meet once to see how we get on, and find out whether it would be a good idea to continue. We would explore the issues that could affect our relationship as well as your personal needs for counselling. The fee for employed people who pay for themselves is £45 each session. I work in Middle Barton, a small village in Oxfordshire easliy accessible by car from Oxford, Banbury, Chipping Norton and Bicester.