Lucy Smart

I am a Psychotherapist specialising in an evidence-based therapy that accelerates psychological change.

There are always reasons for psychological suffering, and when we do not tackle the underlying causes, this suffering tends to be repeated throughout our lives.

I aim to help you resolve the difficulties you bring in a collaborative, focused and emotionally therapeutic way.

Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy has been developed to make therapy more effective, efficient and cost-effective.

Therapy can be life-changing; bringing confidence, vitality, purpose, a realisation of potential, and more satisfying relationships.

You may be completely new to psychotherapy, in which case I know it can be hard to acknowledge there is something wrong, to ask for help, or to believe that change is possible.

You may have had psychotherapy before and feel like something is still not quite resolved or repaired. You may even have had years of therapy but things haven’t really changed. ISTDP psychotherapy is an effective segue in both cases, and it won’t mean starting again or spending several sessions going through personal history.

ISTDP is evidenced to be effective for a large range of emotional and psychological issues, such as anxiety, depression, relationship problems, emotional, thought or behavioural issues, medically unexplained symptoms such as pain and fatigue, mood and personality disorders, and for enhancing one’s experience of life.

I continually review my work, both independently and with colleagues, to ensure I am working to the best possible standard. I am committed to life-long learning and continual improvement through reflective study, review with colleagues, and continuous professional development (CPD).

Please see my website for further information.

What to expect

I aim to join forces with you in helping you overcome whatever issues are causing problems in your life, in the following ways:

- Coming equipped with a sophisticated knowledge of the unconscious, core attachment needs and relational processes, along with a set of therapeutic and technical skills.

- Acting as an active advocate for the innate, constructive, creative, healing forces of the unconscious; aiming to mobilise this positive force within you.

- Welcoming and engaging with all resistances and protective mechanisms, rather than finding them problematic or a signal to back off.

- Actively sharing my observations and encouraging self-observation. This empowers you to own what is yours, and to act on your own behalf; becoming your own therapist when life requires it, after the therapy ends.

- Continually assessing the way anxiety is discharged in the body, and the ways in which you might unconsciously and automatically defend against this anxiety and subsequent feelings. This means the work can progress more rapidly, as it moves in accordance with the capacity of your feelings/anxiety system in each moment.

- Being as open, honest, straight-forward and compassionate as possible at all times.

I offer a free phone call or Zoom video call in order that you can get a feel for things, and to ask any questions.

The first session is usually a double session, to allow us to get to the bottom of the matter from the off.

I am a Psychotherapist specialising in an evidence based form of therapy that accelerates psychological change.

There are always reasons for psychological suffering, and when we do not tackle the underlying causes, this suffering tends to be repeated throughout our lives.

I aim to help you resolve the difficulties you bring in a collaborative, focused and emotionally therapeutic way.

Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy has been developed to make therapy more effective, efficient and cost-effective.

Therapy can be life-changing; bringing confidence, vitality, purpose, a realisation of potential, and more satisfying relationships.

You may be completely new to psychotherapy, in which case I know it can be hard to acknowledge there is something wrong, to ask for help, or to believe that change is possible.

You may have had psychotherapy before and feel like something is still not quite resolved or repaired. You may even have had years of therapy but things haven’t really changed. ISTDP psychotherapy is an effective segue in both cases, and it won’t mean starting again or spending several sessions going through personal history.

ISTDP is evidenced to be effective for a large range of emotional and psychological issues, such as anxiety, depression, relationship problems, emotional, thought or behavioural issues, medically unexplained symptoms such as pain and fatigue, mood and personality disorders, and for enhancing one’s experience of life.

I continually review my work, both independently and with colleagues, to ensure I am working to the best possible standard. I am committed to life-long learning and continual improvement through reflective study, review with colleagues, and continuous professional development (CPD).

Please see my website for further information.

What to expect

I aim to join forces with you in helping you overcome whatever it is that is causing problems in your life in the following ways: 

- Coming equipped with a sophisticated knowledge of the unconscious, core attachment needs and relational processes, along with a set of therapeutic and technical skills.

- Acting as an active advocate for the innate, constructive, creative, healing forces of the unconscious; aiming to mobilise this positive force within you.

- Actively sharing my observations, and encouraging self-observation. This empowers you to own what is yours, and to act on your own behalf; becoming your own therapist when life requires it, after the therapy ends.

- Welcoming and engaging with all resistances, rather than finding them problematic or a signal to back off.

- Continually assessing the way anxiety is discharged in the body, and the ways in which you might unconsciously and automatically defend against this anxiety and subsequent feelings. This means the work can progress more rapidly, as it moves in accordance with the capacity of your feelings/anxiety system in each moment.

- Being as open, honest, compassionate and straight-forward with you as I possibly can, at all times.

I offer an initial phone call or Zoom video call in order that you can get a feel for things, and ask any questions.

The first session is usually a double session in order to allow time to get to the bottom of the matter from the very start.