About me
I'm Catherine Lapsley, a qualified counsellor and integrative psychotherapist working in private practice in Southport. I offer relational psychotherapy grounded in curiosity, honesty and compassion.
For 40 years, I worked as a dental practitioner. In that time, I built my working life on trust: earning it, keeping it, and being honest and consistent with the people in my care. These relational skills are the foundation of how I work as a psychotherapist.
My qualifications include a Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling and a Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy.
I am registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, membership number 01004951. Fully insured and following the professional body's ethical framework.
How I work
I work with adults, often men who feel they've spent their lives coping alone. My clients are usually intelligent, capable and successful, yet find themselves struggling without knowing why.
Therapy starts from the idea that we change through the relationship. Our work rests on ensuring this relationship is genuine, consistent and honest; it is grounded in curiosity, honesty and compassion, as this is where lasting change becomes possible. My clients feel understood, challenged and supported.
As an integrative psychotherapist, I draw on more than one way of understanding people, so the work is shaped around you, not squeezed into a single model.
Together we explore not only past experiences and current difficulties, but also what emerges from the therapeutic relationship itself, creating opportunities for deeper understanding and lasting change.
I draw mainly on the person-centred approach to therapy. This uses a hopeful view of human nature, and it holds that all humans have the capacity to heal, develop and grow. It does not deny the existence of trauma, anger, loss, despair, sorrow, fear or other “difficult” emotions. But it does believe that the process of exploring these painful things with a known and trustworthy companion can help you come to terms with them, moving through and beyond them.
My style of therapy is a very warm, human and powerful way of working. I aim to build a relationship of trust and confidentiality with my clients, so they feel safe discussing whatever they need to. I offer you acceptance, genuineness and empathy: it’s my job to accompany you on your journey and provide support and, when necessary, respectful challenge along the way.
What brings people to therapy
- Feeling that you've spent your life coping alone
- Struggling without knowing why, despite a capable, successful life
- Patterns that have lasted for years and haven't shifted
- Finding it hard to talk about how you feel
- Relationships and family
- Therapy in the past which may or may not have helped
What sessions are like
We start with the first session to talk about what brings you here and to see whether working together feels right. There's no pressure to decide on the day.
After that, we meet regularly, usually weekly, in a quiet, non-medical private room. The pace is yours, and we can review how it's going whenever you like.
Fees and practicalities
- Session length
- One hour
- Fee
- £100 per hour
- Payment
- Bank transfer, paid at or before the session
- Availability
- Wednesday 11am – 7pm
Friday 11am – 6pm
Saturday 10am – 1pm - Cancellations
- 24 hours’ notice required. Sessions cancelled without notice will be charged at the full fee.
Where to find me
I see clients in person at The Space at Fifty-Four, 54 Lord Street, Southport, PR8 1QB.
The property is on the ground floor with a small step to the entrance. Public parking is available outside for a fee. Main bus routes run along Lord Street, and the train station is within walking distance.
Get in touch
If you'd like to ask a question or arrange a first session, send me a message. I usually reply within three working days.
Please don't include sensitive details in a first email. We can talk through anything you'd like at our first session.
Privacy notice: about your information
If you are a client of mine for counselling and therapy, I ask you for a contact number and email address. I will only ever use these details to contact you about the work we are doing, or have done together, for instance, if we need to rearrange a session, or if you need details about when we met for, say, an insurance claim.
As part of making sure I work with you in the best possible way I can, I keep brief notes about our sessions. No-one else sees the notes, and your name doesn’t appear on them (only initials). You have the right to see them at any time. I keep them for 3 years after we’ve finished working together, but you can ask me to destroy them sooner if you’d like to.
In the light of the Data Protection Act 2018, I’m making it explicit that:
- I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
- Your name, phone number and email address are written in my diary. Your name is stored in my mobile phone along with your email and number. No-one else has access to the diary, nor to the phone, which is password-protected. Your email address is also stored in my Google contacts. The Google account is security protected.
- My notes are paper only (nothing on the computer/in the cloud), and are in locked storage (for which I have the only key).
- In accordance with the recommendations of the BACP, I have an arrangement with a fellow therapist which allows her to get in touch with my current clients if I have an accident or illness, or if I die. This is to make sure that I don’t just “disappear” when I’m working with you. I update the colleague with names and contact details of current clients on a regular basis. This information is stored, on paper only, in a locked cabinet. The paper copy does not identify me, nor give any means of connecting you with me or the colleague. If you would rather I did not do this in your case, let me know.
If you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to ask.