About Your Space Counselling
Welcome to Your Space Counselling
Welcome, I’m Lauren Smith — an ISPC (https://ispc.org.uk/) Accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist serving Wetherby, Leeds, and surrounding areas. I also offer flexible online and telephone counselling services across the UK, making professional mental health support accessible wherever you are.
People seek counselling for many reasons: coping with life changes such as relationship breakdowns, job loss, or bereavement; managing difficult emotions like anxiety, depression, panic, or loneliness; or addressing feelings of being "stuck," "low," or overwhelmed. Whatever challenges you face, I am here to support you on your journey.
Counselling provides a confidential, non-judgmental space where you can explore thoughts and feelings that may be hard to discuss with friends or family. Together, we will work at your pace to understand what is troubling you and identify patterns that impact your wellbeing.
My approach focuses on helping you gain insight into how past experiences, relationships, or traumas may affect your current emotional health. I have experience supporting clients with a wide range of issues, including:
Stress and anxiety (including generalized anxiety disorder and health anxiety)
Low mood and depression
Relationship difficulties
Confidence and self-esteem challenges
Agoraphobia
Family conflicts
Emotional neglect
Taking the first step to seek counselling takes courage, and I’m here to help. To learn more or book an initial appointment, please contact me by phone, email, or text message.
I offer counselling sessions online, by telephone, and in-person in Wetherby and Leeds — providing flexible options to fit your needs.
My Approach
My counselling approach is relational, grounded in the belief that healing and personal growth happen through healthy relationships and meaningful connections with others.
I offer a collaborative, respectful therapeutic relationship where you can explore your feelings at your own pace, free from judgment. Together, we’ll work towards finding the best way forward, empowering you to create positive and lasting psychological change.
As an integrative counselling practitioner, I draw on a variety of therapeutic approaches tailored to suit your unique needs. My practice includes modalities such as person-centred therapy, humanistic, existential, psychodynamic, and elements of behavioural therapies, ensuring your treatment is flexible and client-focused.
I provide both short-term, solution-focused therapy to help you navigate specific life crises or decisions, and longer-term therapy to explore deeper issues — including how past experiences may be influencing your present emotional wellbeing.
How I Can Help
Anxiety
Understanding Anxiety and How I Can Support You
Anxiety is a natural part of life and can even serve a useful purpose, such as motivating us to prepare for important events like job interviews or exams. However, anxiety can sometimes become overwhelming and interfere with daily life. It manifests in many forms, including Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), panic disorder, health anxiety, agoraphobia, social anxiety, and specific phobias. It’s also common to experience anxiety alongside other conditions, such as depression.
Anxiety affects both the mind and body, with symptoms varying from person to person. Common signs include:
Persistent feelings of worry and unease
Difficulty concentrating
Withdrawal from activities or relationships you usually enjoy
Overthinking past actions or conversations
Avoiding goals, relationships, or dreams due to anxious thoughts
Excessive worry about loved ones or personal health
Insomnia or restlessness
Feelings of hopelessness or despair
Physical symptoms like dizziness, heart palpitations, pins and needles, headaches, or body aches
Panic attacks
With extensive experience in supporting individuals struggling with anxiety, I combine practical behavioural techniques with a deeper exploration of the underlying causes. This approach helps to manage symptoms effectively while encouraging lasting positive psychological change. Together, we may explore how past life events, traumas, or relationships might be influencing your current experience of anxiety.
Depression
Understanding Depression and How Counselling Can Help
Everyone experiences days of sadness or feeling low, but depression is different—it involves persistent feelings of sadness that last for prolonged periods. It’s important to understand that depression is not a sign of weakness or something you can simply “snap out of.” It is a recognised medical condition that can affect anyone.
Sometimes depression has a clear cause, such as the loss of a loved one, job redundancy, or a health diagnosis. Other times, it may arise without any obvious reason.
Common symptoms of depression include:
Low mood and fatigue
Anxiety or restlessness
Difficulty sleeping or insomnia
Tearfulness or feelings of agitation
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you once enjoyed
Feeling empty, numb, or stuck
Thoughts of suicide
Counselling offers valuable support during these challenging times. Speaking with an impartial and compassionate professional can help you make sense of your feelings and remind you that these difficult emotions will not last forever.
Relationships
Support for Relationship Difficulties
Relationship issues are a common reason people seek counselling. These difficulties can take many forms—whether it's struggling to form healthy connections, experiencing ongoing conflict with family, friends, or romantic partners, or finding yourself trapped in repeated, unhelpful relational patterns.
You may be facing one or more of the following challenges:
Affairs or betrayals of trust
Attachment difficulties
Communication problems
A lack of trust in others
Difficulty forming or maintaining fulfilling relationships
Ongoing conflict with family or friends
Complex step-family dynamics
Issues relating to pregnancy or parenting
Sexual concerns or intimacy issues
Counselling provides a confidential, non-judgmental space where you can explore these relationship challenges in a safe and supportive environment. Through the therapeutic process, you can reconnect with your authentic self and gain clarity around what you truly need and want in your relationships. Together, we can identify underlying patterns and begin working toward healthier, more fulfilling connections with others.
Grief/Loss
Grief, Loss, and Bereavement Support
Grief is a natural and deeply personal response to loss—and loss can take many forms. While we often associate grief with bereavement, it can also arise from the end of a relationship, job loss, health changes, or life transitions such as aging or retirement. However your loss shows up, your experience of grief is unique and valid.
There is no “right” way to grieve, and no timeline you must follow. Grief can stir a wide range of emotions, particularly if your relationship with the person who died was complicated or unresolved. It’s not unusual for unexpected or conflicting emotions to arise.
Common symptoms of grief include:
Sadness
Anger
Guilt
Anxiety
Regret
Depression
Emotional pain or numbness
Insomnia or disrupted sleep
Loneliness
Fear or anxiety about your own mortality
Grieving can feel isolating, especially when those around us don't know how to respond. You may find others avoid the topic, say the wrong thing, or unintentionally pressure you to “move on” before you're ready.
Counselling can offer meaningful support during this time of emotional pain. It provides a confidential, non-judgmental space where you can talk freely and openly about your grief with someone who will listen, understand, and walk alongside you at your pace.
Trauma
Support for Trauma and Emotional Healing
Trauma can have a profound and lasting impact on our mental health and overall wellbeing. While trauma is often associated with events such as abuse, accidents, or major life-threatening experiences, it can also arise from less widely recognised situations—especially when those experiences overwhelm our ability to cope. Trauma is deeply personal, and we all respond to it in different ways.
Common symptoms of trauma may include:
Flashbacks or intrusive memories
Heightened anxiety or panic
Difficulty sleeping or nightmares
Depression or low mood
Intense anger or irritability
Feeling emotionally numb or detached
A sense of helplessness or loss of control
Talking about trauma in a safe, supportive, and confidential environment can be an important step toward healing. Counselling offers a space where your experiences are acknowledged and validated—helping you process what has happened and begin to move forward at your own pace.
Whether your trauma is recent or long-standing, support is available, and you don’t have to face it alone..
Other Issues
Other Reasons You Might Seek Counselling
There are many reasons people choose to access counselling—each as valid and individual as the person seeking help. You might be struggling after a significant life event such as a relationship breakdown, bereavement, or job loss. Or perhaps you're feeling “stuck,” lost, or sensing that something in your life just isn’t quite right.
Whatever your concern, I will listen with empathy and without judgement. Together, we can explore what’s going on beneath the surface and work toward clarity, healing, and a sense of direction.
Whether your challenges are specific or difficult to name, counselling can offer valuable support and a safe space to explore your thoughts and feelings.
Contact
If you’d like to book an appointment or simply find out more about how counselling could support you, I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to get in touch:
📧 Email: laurensmiththerapy52@gmail.com
📞 Telephone: 07539 366955
I offer a warm, confidential, and non-judgemental space—whether you're looking for in-person counselling in Wetherby and Leeds or flexible online or telephone sessions across the UK.
