Chris Lewis

Therapist Directory Listing Category: Sex- and sexuality-related practitioners

About the Therapist

About the therapist:

I am a qualified and accredited integrative counsellor/psychotherapist and CBT psychotherapist and have been practising as a therapist since 2007. I am also a qualified psychosexual therapist and a supervisor. I have a part-time private practice in London N17 and online. I also work part-time as a supervisor and I am an honorary clinical teaching fellow at UCL.

I worked for a psychological therapies service in the NHS for a number of years, most recently as a senior therapist and supervisor . I have worked previously as a therapist in a drug and alcohol service as well as in education and research.

I am an accredited member of the BACP, the professional and regulatory body for counsellors and psychotherapists which means I have been formally recognised as a proven, competent practitioner. I work within their ethical framework and guidelines for good practice. I am also an accredited member of the BABCP, the professional body for behavioural and/or cognitive psychotherapists and a registered member of COSRT, the professional body for psychosexual therapists.

Sexual identity:

Heterosexual
Other

Gender identity: Female

Gender history: Prefer not to say

Non-monogamy: No

Intersex: No

Neurodivergent: Unsure

Personal pronouns: She, her

Qualifications - Links to websites:

Qualifications and accreditation

I have a Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Counselling from London Metropolitan University (2008) and a Postgraduate Diploma in CBT Psychotherapy from Royal Holloway University (2012). I also have a Diploma in Clinical Supervision (2015) and a Diploma in Integrative Psychosexual Therapy (2016). My earlier qualifications include a BA honours degree in Humanities and a Masters degree in Communication, Culture and Society.

I continue to take part in professional development to develop my skills around a range of issues e.g. trauma, anger, relationship work and working with sexual diversity. I have undertaken substantial training in delivering video and telephone counselling and have level 2 ACTO membership.

Qualifications - Additional:

Award	Awarding body	Year of award

Experience and approach:

My approach is integrative, which means I use a variety of counselling models to find a way of working which suits your needs. For example, if you would like to work in a creative way beyond simply talking I can facilitate this. You can bring drawings, dreams, poetry and music to sessions if this is helpful to you.

I also offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which is particularly helpful for addressing patterns of thinking and behaving in the present and Integrative Psychosexual Therapy which draws on my specialist knowledge around sex and relationships. I can integrate these approaches with counselling or offer them in a purer format depending on your needs.

We can explore which approach would be most helpful to your particular difficulties in the first session. However, research shows that the quality of the relationship between a client and therapist is more important than the theoretical approach used.

My theoretical background

My core training has been in integrative counselling and psychotherapy, an approach that uses a range of perspectives, including humanistic (person centred, existential and gestalt) transcultural and psychodynamic theory (such as attachment theory).

I believe that human beings become who they are through their changing relationships with other people, as well as a range of social, cultural and environmental influences. For this reason, in sessions we may focus on your current experiences and relationships and, if relevant, explore how these may relate to your previous experiences and relationships with others. Your early family experiences may be particularly relevant to how you have developed. At times we might explore the experiences that may emerge within the therapeutic relationship too.

My client group is very diverse and includes individuals and their partners from a variety of cultural backgrounds and sexual identities. I have also worked with people from a range of specific client groups, including people with depression and/or anxiety disorders, people affected by alcohol issues, survivors of crime, young people and older people.

Approaches: