The Eating Disorder Psychologist

Psychotherapist

Lisa Wakefield

Lisa is an accredited Psychotherapist/Counsellor and Licensed Practitioner in Eating Disorders with many years of experience. She is a person-centred practitioner, which means that she believes the therapy is about the client, so she adapts her sessions to meet the client’s needs. She offers a confidential, non-judgmental space for clients to feel open and free to explore their feelings and to create new tools/skills to help them move forward with their lives. Her work focuses on creating an environment where you are able to talk openly and honestly. It encourages more effective communication and an opportunity to explore problems.

Experience

Lisa has extensive experience working with teenagers and is inspired by the works of Dr Daniel Siegel. He is a neuroscientist and through his works, he explains the complexity of the teenage brain and what can be done to help adolescents through this period in their lives. She is a down-to-earth person and appreciates that we are all unique. Lisa also works with couples who are experiencing difficulties within their relationship. Relationship counselling focuses on helping couples communicate their experiences and feelings, and work together to resolve issues between them.

Lisa offers an integrative approach to working with people with all sorts of eating disorders and disordered eating. The sessions will explore the underlying cause, meaning, and purpose of the eating behaviour, including attachment behaviour and existential concepts of meaning and purpose.

Lisa’s experience includes the following areas; bereavement, relationship difficulties, anxiety, and depression; low self-esteem and confidence; work problems, stress, post-natal depression; historical and sexual abuse, health problems, domestic violence, anger, rape, and trauma. She has worked in the voluntary sector, working for Derbyshire Rape Crisis, Cruse Bereavement Care, and Hadhari Nari Project supporting women experiencing domestic violence.

Qualifications

  • Post Graduate Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
  • Certificate in Counselling Theory and Studies
  • Certificate in Counselling Skills
  • ABC Foundation Certificate in Bereavement
  • Workshop on managing major disasters therapeutically – CRUSE
  • Pet bereavement training – CRUSE
  • Domestic Violence Training
  • Working with suicidal ideation and self-harm
  • Advanced Post Diploma in Couples Counselling, Counselling Works, Milton Keynes
  • BACP Accreditation
  • Post Graduate Certificate in Supervision
  • Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Level 1, Adoption Plus, Milton Keynes
  • Therapeutic work with teenagers. Tools and techniques for helping troubled teenagers
  • Attachment Interventions
  • Advanced Certificate in Eating Disorders, Therapy Works, Cardiff
  • Licensed Practitioner in Eating Disorders, Professor Julia Buckroyd

What is person-centred counselling?

The person-centred approach to counselling was initiated by Carl Rogers and has probably made the greatest contribution to counselling. Rogers’s approach is based on the theory that people tend naturally toward “self-actualisation” which is being spontaneous, open, trusting, and trustworthy, accepting of self and others, and towards achieving their full potential.

The overall aim is to provide an opportunity to work towards living more satisfyingly and resourcefully. Counselling relationships will vary according to need but may be concerned with developmental issues, addressing and resolving specific problems, making decisions, coping with crises, developing personal insights and knowledge, working through feelings of inner conflict, or improving relationships with others.

The counsellor’s role is to facilitate the client’s work in ways that respect the client’s values, personal resources, and capacity for self-determination.