About

I’m Lou Crosby, 

Counselling & psychotherapy for adults in-person in Peterborough, UK and online across the UK.

I'm a Qualified, BSc (Hons) Counsellor & Psychotherapist, and I work with adults who have difficulty in their relationships. My goal is to help you explore the origins of self-doubt, conflicted thoughts, confusion or anxiety, to gain a fresh perspective about who you are and what you want for yourself, and to start facilitating positive change.

My Journey To Becoming A Counsellor & Psychotherapist
Just like the clients I see, I'm human, I've been through wonderful, difficult, and average experiences that have shaped who I am and have informed the way I work with my clients.
Having grown up, assuming that meant to be liked to do well in life and be loved I needed to be good. I managed this pretty well until I reached secondary school and I needed to ramp up my efforts in order to pass my exams. 

I hadn't realised until late in life that I am what is described now as neurodivergent 'ND' for short. Neurodivergence is a term that describes differences in peoples' brain and functioning. This includes – but is not limited to -  things like dyslexia and ADHD, autism. A world designed for 'neurotypicals' (NTs) can make it particularly difficult to navigate life's systems, and it left me with a wretched shameful belief that I wasn’t good enough.

ND can present in difficulties sustaining focus, memory, concentration in noisy or bright environments, organising the day’s tasks, and things we need for the day ahead. All this can be very anxiety provoking as aside from this, I wanted to, and actually enjoyed learning and working hard. 

I’ve since found that many other people share similarities with my learning at school experience which was marred difficulty concentrating in certain environments, focussing (on the right things!), keeping up, and not being able to get myself organised enough to do what was required.

Of course this is hugely anxiety provoking, because I strongly believe that like most children, I was excited to learn, I'm curious, I wanted to do my best, to do well, and for my family and teachers to feel proud of me. Unfortunately frustrated teachers and parents can find it hard to be curious about reasons for lack of engagement and their exasperation can lead to them assuming that not doing the work is a 'choice'.
Feeling misunderstood and underestimated, particularly at a young age, can lead to feelings of fear about the future, and negative beliefs about what we deserve from life. It can subconsciously give us the idea that we're 'wrong' in some profound way. To counteract this we can cleverly adapt by 'masking' - making out we don't care (this was my go- to. It was a way of taking some control). When we don't expect to have a person to whom we can take our fears and anxiety to without judgment, we need to manage the pain and distress of that by whatever means we have.

 
It took me some time with the support of therapy to steadily work through and overcome addictive behaviours to be able to access, and feel my feelings.

I feel proud of myself now. The dissatisfaction and shame about my unfulfilled potential propelled me to study for an Honours degree as a mature student. This is the silver lining that has led to me the work I now do with others. 

I want others to recognise their worth too. To understand that the past does not determine their future.
My life experiences are what lead me to become the Counsellor & Psychotherapist I am today.
Helping People Working with people to help them discover and connect and express themselves and nurture their relationships is work that I find rich, meaningful and rewarding.

Being a Counsellor & Psychotherapist is an honour and a privilege. I love guiding people towards figuring stuff out and witnessing them achieve more fulfilling lives. The most rewarding thing about being a Counsellor & Psychotherapist is celebrating when my client's make progress.
I am committed to facilitating positive change.

I Have A Genuine Interest In Others And Bring An Open, Non-judgemental Presence To Sessions

I have a natural ability to: 
Help people identify what they are feeling
People who know me often say that I am a good listener who can be fully present for people's stories, even if they are difficult stories.

Our Sessions Are Focused On You
Sessions will provide you with the space to be understood and heard. In feeling safe and comfortable, you'll be able to focus on yourself without feeling selfish.
It's important to me to provide a non-judgemental space where you can be yourself. There isn't a "one size fits all" approach to Counselling & psychotherapy. Our sessions will fit your specific needs and concerns.

As A Counsellor & Psychotherapist, I Embrace The Following Philosophies
I believe that you are worthy of love and care
I believe that we can do hard things like going to therapy and we can do them and live better for it
I believe that Brene Brown was right when she said, "Owning your story is the bravest thing you'll ever do"
I believe that we can stop feeling shame when we share our story with someone who can hear it with empathy and understanding

I believe that even if we feel like we've lost hope, it's possible to show up, commit to ourselves, and do what it takes to start feeling better

Let’s Discover How I Can Help

Start feeling in touch with the real you. Get your free phone consultation where you can share what’s going on for you and we can explore how I can help. 

Email me today at louise@ljccounselling.co.uk . I'm here for you.