Louise Leighton
Member Status: Accredited
Member No: NCS19-08468
Location: Leeds

Welcome to my profile, firstly I would like to say that I understand how daunting the process of finding a counsellor can be, you have taken the first step by visiting this site. I would like to reassure you that should you choose me as your counsellor I will provide a non-judgemental, safe, secure and confidential space for you to explore your experiences.
How can Counselling help you?
We all struggle in life sometimes and don’t always want to accept that we can’t do everything or that we don’t understand everything. People come to counselling for a variety of reasons, it could be a relationship breakdown, abuse, health/illness, family issue, grief/loss, work stress, anxiety or sometimes you don’t know what the issue is.
However, whatever the reason behind your visit today, person centred counselling can help you to unlock the root cause, understand, explore, accept and start to move on with your life.
Working together I would support you in facing your concerns to equip you with the skills and resilience for your future.
Some of the ways I do this are; actively listening, reflecting, mindful questioning and processing, this supports you to gain a deeper understanding and explore your feelings and experiences in a safe environment at your own pace with full support. I will not judge you or your experiences.
I can support you to discover things about yourself, how you present in life and how you see and are affected by others. By bringing these elements in to your awareness you can then begin to implement changes with support and guidance from me.
Who I work with:
I work with individuals 18+ in a variety of areas, some of the most common being:
Family and relationship issues
Menopause
Health and Illness
Childhood issues
Childhood trauma
Domestic Abuse/Violence
Controlling/coercive behaviours
Narcissistic behaviour
Men’s mental health
My main specialist areas are:
Family and relationship issues
Menopause
Childhood issues
Relationships
They are a key part of our lives, whether these are with friends, family, colleagues or a partner and when we have good relationships we can feel happy, secure and supported. However, some relationships are not good for us and can be abusive or controlling, when this happens it leaves us feeling vulnerable and unsupported and not knowing what to do.
Counselling with me can help to bring situations in to your awareness, support you to process them and make changes.
Menopause - well where to start!
This can be a life changing time for a lot of women, the menopause can cause a lot of distressing symptoms and it is still not talked about openly and women are still suffering in silence.
Coming to counselling with me I can support you to talk openly about your personal menopause experience in safe and non-judgemental space. Working together you will be able to express and process how the menopause is affecting you, learn ways to cope with those changes and hopefully this will enable you to find yourself again.
How I work
I work in a non-directive way, which means I am led by the client and will work with you at your own pace and support you on your therapeutic journey. I am a person centred counsellor which means I work with the clients needs and best interests at the centre of the work I do.
I have completed various courses in many subjects/areas and I am regularly reading and attending training to update my knowledge and learn new skills to enable me to fully support my clients, this a commitment I whole heartedly make to ensure I am doing my best for my clients at all times.
I gained my Therapeutic Counselling Diploma in York and have volunteered in Leeds for a charity as a Counsellor before setting up my own private practice.
Next steps
I believe every individual is unique, therefore I offer a 30 minute free initial meeting so that we can meet and decide if we can work together. This initial meeting allows you to see if you feel comfortable and would like me as your Counsellor and it allows me to learn a little about you and what has brought you to counselling.
If you feel you would like to make an appointment for a free initial meeting, then please contact me or alternatively you can visit my website to find out more about me, read my blogs and more.