Lucy Wainwright

Lucy Wainwright is a qualified counsellor and art therapist and a full member of the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT).

I’m registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and I’m trained in wilderness first aid.

I hold an MA in Art Therapy, a Certificate in Counselling Studies and Skills and a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Supervision.

Counselling and Psychotherapy

Supporting people to connect with who they truly are and how they want to live is my passion.

I will walk with you while you take this life-changing journey within.

You need to be listened to and valued and to feel that your issues are real and important.

This is your life, and it matters.

It takes courage and patience to inquire into why life is the way it is, and why we are the way we are, and expert support really helps us sustain the process. I can support you, gently and carefully, while you do this important work.

I offer counselling in comfortable and discreet therapy rooms at Riverside Wellbeing in Whaley Bridge in the High Peak of Derbyshire. Sessions are 60 minutes and usually take place weekly.

In your first session, we’ll discuss your needs and what you hope to gain from therapy. If we decide to work together I am committed to working with you to overcome your difficulties and help you build the life you deserve.

Art Therapy

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”  – Thomas Merton

I offer person-centred art therapy in person and online.

No art experience is needed, just a willingness to have a go!

Making objects and images in the supportive presence of a trained therapist can help you express things which are beyond words; things that you may not have even known you were thinking.

I will be with you throughout, carefully and respectfully helping you to make sense of uncomfortable feelings and memories.

Ecotherapy

Outdoor therapy sessions are deeply transformative.

Being outdoors, gently walking or sitting with me and tuning into sounds and sights around you will reconnect you to yourself and expand your sense of yourself and your purpose in the world.

My Nature Office is near Taxal Moor Road, a few minutes from the centre of Whaley Bridge by car.

It is an attractive hillside of mixed woodland, low bushes and paths in which we can stroll and explore.

There is privacy and peace here despite the odd dog walker or jogger and we can conduct a thoughtful, curious and very embodied therapy hour in confidence and in greenness.

Nature is for everyone.

You don’t need to be especially fit to benefit from outdoor ecotherapy, just reasonably hardy and appropriately dressed. In dangerous weather, we can defer our session or have a call or Zoom instead, but usually, we will find a way for you to experience your inner world right there in the landscape, rain or shine, and see what comes up for you.

Please email me to discuss how we can make any necessary adaptations to allow you to access the outdoors safely.

Ecotherapy is also a great way to access therapy if you live with anyone who is shielding, as contact outdoors is less likely to spread covid than contact in a room.

Email Therapy

If you struggle to say what you mean and prefer to get your thoughts in order by writing, email therapy may be for you.

Writing in the comfort of your own home can allow you to be more open than you might be face-to-face, and taking the time to articulate your thoughts, feelings, and concerns in writing will begin to give you insight into what is happening in your life.

The act of sharing can start to bring peace.

You have found the words and you have put them into my hands. Suddenly, you don’t feel so alone.

I will spend an hour crafting a therapeutic response to you, in which there may be observations, suggestions, questions and supportive encouragement. At an agreed time, I will send you my reply by email, which you can then read and reread, taking the time to think through everything I have written.

No more struggling to remember what was said.

If email therapy sounds like it might be a suitable option for you, please drop me a line and we can think about it together. If you would like to combine email therapy with a regular zoom or face-to-face meeting, that can work really well too.

My email service is subject to normal contracting and fee arrangements.

Ask me about email therapy.

Online therapy

Therapy in the comfort and privacy of your home.

If you or anyone you live with is shielding, if you have limited mobility, if you have a health condition, a complicated schedule, or simply if you live too far from Whaley Bridge to travel to me, online or phone therapy may be for you.

I developed my online practice in lockdown, obtaining a BACP qualification in Online and Telephone Therapy.

We can connect profoundly and authentically online, and you can explore art therapy and ecotherapy practices online too if that is interesting to you.

I use the Zoom platform which is very easy and straightforward to use.

If it is unfamiliar to you I can help you get set up, and make sure that tech worries don’t interfere with your experience of therapy.

Ask me about online therapy.