Welcome to my space. It is lovely that you are here.
I'm Lara, a Psychotherapist-in-training in my fourth year as an MA Student at the Institute of Psychosynthesis, University of Middlesex, and a trainee member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).
Psychosynthesis has a psycho-spiritual approach, in that context, I work with clients who are searching for meaning, who desire to improve their relationships and who want to invite love and joy into their lives, and most importantly, who are ready for that.
I offer counselling in Ulverston and online. I work in a way that is empowering, empathic and honest. If you are facing a life changing circumstance or going through any personal issue, such as relationship challenges or bereavement, or you arelacking purpose and motivation to carry on, I can help you to get to the heart of the problem.
Through our work together, I will meet you wherever you are in your journey and offer you a safe space, from there you can lay the foundation to achieve desirable and sustainable growth and change. For that therapeutic alliance to work, what you need to bring in is your willingness.
We all face challenges in our lives, and therapy can be a source of emotional support, a way to cultivate self-compassion and understanding, and as a by-product we gain clarity and healing, which can be transformational in our lives.
Who can benefit from Therapy?
Individuals may seek therapy for a variety of reasons, such as current dilemmas, addictions, anxiety, emotional imbalances, relationship difficulties, grief due to a loss of a loved one or a more succinct kind of loss, such as a life changing circumstance in regards to health or career, for example. Such challenges, although disguised as problems, can be a great opportunity for healing and change.
Some may choose therapy to enhance personal growth and contextualise deeper knowledge, such as insights gained by experiencing altered states of consciousness (ASC) through breath-work, meditation, psychedelics or shamanic practices. I am interested in supporting individuals in their integration phase, which is where the knowledge can be alchemised into applicable wisdom.
Therapy can support you to navigate deeper into these challenges and guide you out of them, most importantly, in your own pace. You can then gain a sense of agency and move from a place of confusion and inertia into being the conductor of your life.
About Me
I came to the UK from Brazil, my home country, in 2007. After 15 years in London, I moved to Grange over Sands with my Husband and our Cockapoo Dog.
My professional life has always been about service, that is my passion and my Soul call. I worked in healthcare for 30 years, and it was during my role as a Senior Sexual Health Nurse in a busy clinic in London that I felt the pull towards Psychosynthesis. My first motivation was to gain counselling skills to be better able to support my patients in their healing path. I didn't realise then that I was embarking in a deep self-discovery and healing journey, supported by various synchronicities and life events that would lead me to change my career.
Being a Gong Practitioner and a Yoga Instructor are also important parts of life. The sounds and vibrations of the Gongs can take you into deep relaxation and it has many physical and emotional health benefits. I fell in love with Yoga in 2013, and in 2015 I completed an Akhanda Yoga Teaching Training in London with the inspiring teacher Julia Anastasiou. My yoga style is a therapeutic one, I tend to focus in the relationship between body, mind and soul. I currently offer Sound Healing and (chair) Yoga sessions to a few private groups.
Although my formal qualifications and experience are essential to this work, what I really would like to offer is a sense of who I am, my authenticity and my values, which apply to the services I offer. My desire is that we meet in our shared humanity and that you can feel both my compassionate present and my fruitful vulnerability.
