Feel in control on the outside, but not on the inside?
Welcome to Lee Payton Counselling & Psychotherapy
Counselling, EMDR Psychotherapy & CLINICAL
SUPERVISION in Berkhamsted, and Online.
I work with capable, self-aware adults
who are ready to understand and change
the patterns driving anxiety, overthinking,
and relationship difficulties.
Lee Payton Counselling and Psychotherapy
About Me
You may look like you’re coping on the outside, holding things together at work, in relationships, in life, but internally, something isn’t quite right.
Perhaps anxiety is always running in the background.
Perhaps your confidence drops at key moments.
Or you find yourself repeating patterns in relationships, decisions, or reactions that you don’t fully understand.
I work with adults who want more than just a place to talk. They want to understand what’s driving these patterns, and change them.
My approach goes beyond surface-level coping strategies. Together, we identify and resolve the underlying emotional processes that keep you stuck, whether that shows up as anxiety, stress, low self-worth, relationship difficulties, or unresolved past experiences.
Clients often come to me when they are ready for something deeper, more focused, and more effective than what they’ve tried before.
I am an Accredited Member of the BACP and a member of EMDR UK, with advanced training across multiple therapeutic approaches, including EMDR, CBT, MBCT, Person-Centred Approach, Psychodynamic foundation training, and hypnotherapy.
Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model, I draw on this depth of training to tailor the work precisely to you, so we can get to the root of the issue and create meaningful, lasting change.
Before becoming a therapist, I worked in the creative industries across writing, theatre, film, television, and radio. That background still shapes how I work today, bringing a level of insight, flexibility, and emotional attunement that allows me to understand not just what you’re saying, but what’s underneath it.
My work is grounded, direct, and thoughtful.
I offer a space where you can think clearly, feel honestly, and begin to move forward with confidence.
Alongside my private practice, I have worked in specialist settings where the emotional work is often more complex and high-stakes.
At The Hospice of St Francis, I carried out in-depth therapeutic assessments and supported individuals facing profound emotional challenges, including end-of-life experiences. This work required a capacity to engage with difficult, often unspoken realities in a calm, grounded, and thoughtful way.
I have also worked within a Hertfordshire school counselling service, supporting children and young people as they navigated emotional pressures, identity, and change. This experience deepened my understanding of how early patterns form, and how they continue to shape thoughts, relationships, and behaviour into adulthood.
Counselling Services
How counselling can help with anxiety
Anxiety isn’t always obvious from the outside.
You might still be functioning well-working, managing responsibilities, keeping things together, but internally it can feel like your mind never switches off. Overthinking, second-guessing, and a constant sense of pressure can become the norm.
Counselling offers more than temporary relief. It’s a way of understanding what’s driving your anxiety, and changing your relationship with it.
Through our work together, you can:
Think more clearly under pressure
Reduce the mental noise of overthinking and regain the ability to make decisions with confidence.
Understand what’s actually driving your anxiety
Not just the symptoms, but the underlying patterns, why your mind reacts the way it does, and what keeps those cycles in place.
Respond differently in the moments that matter
So anxiety no longer dictates how you act, whether that’s in relationships, work, or everyday situations.
Break recurring patterns
Especially those that show up repeatedly, self-doubt, avoidance, people-pleasing, or feeling “on edge” without fully knowing why.
Feel more in control of yourself
Not by suppressing anxiety, but by developing a steadier, more grounded way of thinking and responding.
Create lasting change
So you’re not just managing anxiety in the moment, but shifting the deeper processes that drive it.
This isn’t about quick fixes or surface-level techniques.
It’s about understanding yourself at a deeper level, and creating a more stable, calm, and self-assured way of being.
How counselling can help with depression and low mood
Depression isn’t always visible.
You may still be getting through your day, meeting responsibilities, and
doing what’s expected of you, but it can feel flat, heavy, or disconnected
underneath. Motivation drops, clarity fades, and even simple decisions
can feel harder than they should.
Counselling offers a space to understand what’s driving that shift, and
how to move out of it.
Through our work together, you can:
Regain a sense of direction
Move out of feeling stuck or aimless, and begin to reconnect with what
matters to you.
Understand the patterns beneath low mood
Including the thoughts, emotional responses, and underlying
experiences that keep you feeling flat or depleted.
Rebuild motivation and momentum
So everyday tasks, and bigger decisions, feel more manageable and
less effortful.
Shift unhelpful cycles
Such as withdrawal, procrastination, or self-criticism that quietly reinforce
low mood over time.
Reconnect with yourself and others
Develop a clearer sense of who you are, what you need, and how to build
more meaningful relationships.
Think more clearly and confidently
So you can make decisions with greater self-trust, rather than second-
guessing or shutting down.
This isn’t about forcing positivity or “pushing through.”
It’s about understanding what’s changed internally, and creating a more stable, engaged, and meaningful way of living.
How counselling can support young adults
Early adulthood can look like progress on the outside, study, work, independence, but internally it can feel far less certain.
Questions around identity, direction, relationships, and expectations can create a quiet sense of pressure. You may find yourself overthinking decisions, comparing yourself to others, or feeling unsure of who you are or where you’re heading.
Counselling offers a space to step out of that noise and think more clearly about yourself and your direction.
Through our work together, you can:
Develop a stronger sense of identity
Understand who you are beyond external expectations, and what genuinely matters to you.
Build confidence in your decisions
So you can move forward without constant second-guessing or comparison.
Understand and manage anxiety more effectively
Not just in theory, but in the moments where it tends to take over.
Navigate relationships with more clarity
Including friendships, family dynamics, and romantic relationships, without losing your sense of self.
Challenge limiting beliefs
Especially those that show up as self-doubt, fear of getting it wrong, or feeling “behind.”
Create a clearer direction for your future
One that feels considered, realistic, and aligned with who you are.
How EMDR can help
Some experiences don’t fully settle.
Even when you’ve moved on in life, certain memories, reactions, or emotional responses can remain active, showing up as anxiety, heightened stress, or patterns that don’t seem to make sense in the present.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a structured, evidence-based approach that helps the brain properly process these experiences, so they no longer carry the same emotional charge. Rather than repeatedly talking through the past, EMDR works more directly with how memories are stored, allowing them to be integrated in a way that feels resolved, not ongoing.
Through EMDR, you can:
Process experiences that feel “stuck”
So they no longer intrude or resurface with the same intensity.
Reduce emotional reactivity
Including anxiety, triggers, or disproportionate responses that seem difficult to control.
Understand how past experiences are influencing the present
And begin to loosen their impact on how you think, feel, and respond.
Shift deeply held beliefs
Such as self-doubt, guilt, or a persistent sense that something isn’t right.
Feel more steady and in control
Without needing to avoid certain thoughts, situations, or memories.
EMDR doesn’t remove what happened.
It changes how it’s held, so the past no longer feels active in the present.
My approach to counselling
At times, life can feel outwardly manageable but internally unsettled.
You may not be in crisis, but something isn’t quite working. Patterns repeat, thoughts loop, or certain situations consistently feel harder than they should.
My role is to help you understand what’s driving that, and to work with you to change it.
Our sessions provide a consistent, confidential space to think clearly about what’s going on for you. Speaking openly, outside of your usual environment, often brings a level of clarity that’s difficult to reach on your own.
But this isn’t just about talking.
We look beneath the surface, at the patterns, emotional responses, and underlying processes shaping how you think, feel, and relate. From there, the work becomes more focused and effective.
I don’t offer generic advice or a fixed way of working.
My approach is grounded in a strong therapeutic relationship, combined with the ability to draw from a range of methods, including person-centred, psychodynamic, CBT, EMDR, and mindfulness-based approaches.
This allows the work to be tailored precisely to you, so we’re not just managing symptoms, but addressing what’s actually driving them.
Where helpful, we may also use practical strategies, particularly for anxiety or moments of pressure, but always in a way that supports deeper, lasting change rather than short-term relief.
Therapy, at its best, creates a shift in how you understand yourself.
With that comes greater clarity, more choice in how you respond, and a stronger sense of control over your life.
Clinical Supervision
I offer clinical supervision for qualified counsellors and trainee therapists who want a reflective, grounded, and professionally supportive space to develop their practice.
Supervision is not only about oversight, it is a space to think deeply about your clinical work, strengthen your decision-making, and continue developing your identity and confidence as a therapist.
My approach to supervision is collaborative, thoughtful, and containing. I aim to create an environment where you can speak openly about your work, explore clinical challenges, and reflect on both the emotional and ethical dimensions of practice.
Alongside supporting safe and ethical work, supervision is also a space for professional growth, helping you refine your therapeutic voice, recognise your strengths, and develop greater clarity in your clinical thinking.
My experience spans NHS services, the third sector, education settings, and private practice. This allows me to bring a broad understanding of the different contexts therapists work within, including the pressures, complexities, and opportunities each can present.
Supervision with me is steady, reflective, and engaged. It offers space to slow down, think clearly, and develop your practice in a way that feels authentic and sustainable.
If you are looking for a supervisor who values depth of reflection, professional integrity, and thoughtful development of clinical work, you are welcome to get in touch for an initial conversation.
Please note: I do not currently offer supervision for EMDR practice.
FAQs
Counselling and psychotherapy are both forms of talking therapy that help you understand and work through emotional difficulties, patterns of thinking, and life challenges.
While they are often used interchangeably, they can differ in depth and focus.
Counselling is often more focused on current difficulties. It can help you make sense of what’s happening in your life right now, understand unhelpful patterns, and find ways of coping and responding more effectively.
Psychotherapy tends to involve a deeper exploration. This may include long-standing emotional patterns, past experiences, and the underlying factors that continue to influence how you think, feel, and relate to others.
In my work, I integrate both counselling and psychotherapy in a flexible and responsive way.
This means we are not limited to a single method or pace. Instead, we work in a way that fits you, whether that involves focused support around a specific issue, or deeper therapeutic exploration over time.
The aim is always the same: to help you develop greater clarity, self-understanding, and lasting change in a way that feels grounded, manageable, and relevant to your life.
Many people come to counselling not because something is “wrong,” but because something doesn’t feel quite right anymore.
You might feel stuck in certain patterns, caught in overthinking, or notice that anxiety, low mood, or relationship difficulties are starting to affect your day-to-day life. You may also simply feel ready to understand yourself more deeply and make sense of what’s been going on beneath the surface.
Counselling and psychotherapy offer a dedicated, consistent space to do that.
It’s time set aside for you to think clearly, explore what’s happening internally, and begin to understand the patterns shaping how you feel, respond, and relate to others.
Speaking with someone outside of your personal or professional life can often bring a different kind of clarity, helping you see things from a new perspective and make sense of experiences that may currently feel confusing or overwhelming.
If you’re unsure whether therapy is right for you, I offer a brief introductory call by phone or Zoom.
This is a no-pressure conversation where you can ask questions, get a sense of how I work, and decide whether it feels like a good fit for you.
There is no fixed timeline for counselling or psychotherapy. The length of therapy depends on what you are bringing, what you want to understand or change, and how deeply you want to explore the issues affecting you.
Some people come for short-term work focused on a specific difficulty or decision. Others choose to work longer-term, allowing space to explore deeper patterns, past experiences, and more ingrained emotional responses over time.
Both approaches are valid, and we can discuss what feels most appropriate for you.
You remain in control of the process throughout. There is no expectation to commit beyond what feels useful, and therapy can be reviewed and adjusted as we go.
In our first session, we will talk about what has brought you to therapy, what you are hoping for, and how we might work together in a way that feels realistic and supportive for you.
Therapy is not about a set course or fixed outcome. It is a collaborative process that moves at a pace that fits you, allowing space for clarity, understanding, and change to develop in a way that feels steady and sustainable.
Every client I work with brings their own individual experiences, circumstances, and ways of coping. While the details differ, many people come to therapy with similar underlying themes, feeling stuck in patterns, struggling with anxiety or low mood, experiencing relationship difficulties, or wanting to better understand themselves and how they respond to life.
Rather than focusing on “types” of people, the work is always centred on you, your experience, your patterns, and what you want to change or understand more deeply.
The best way to explore whether working together feels right is through a brief introductory call. This gives us a chance to talk about what’s bringing you to therapy, and for you to get a sense of how I work.
There is no pressure or obligation, just an opportunity to decide, with clarity, whether it feels like a good fit for you.
I work with adults at different stages of life, from those beginning to navigate independence and direction, through to mid-life and older adults reflecting on change, identity, and life transitions.
Many of my clients are high-functioning individuals from a wide range of fields, including business, finance, education, healthcare, the arts, sport, and the media, who may appear to be coping on the outside, but are struggling internally with anxiety, overthinking, low mood, or repeating patterns in relationships and life choices.
What matters most is not your role, background, or status, but your experience of being you, and what feels stuck, difficult, or unclear right now.
Therapy is a space to step back from external demands and make sense of what’s happening underneath them, in a way that feels focused, contained, and meaningful.
I aim to offer a grounded, thoughtful space where you can feel understood, think clearly, and begin to make changes that feel right for you, at a pace that is manageable and appropriate to your needs.
I offer two session options:
- £75 for a 50-minute session
- £80 for a 60-minute session
Both options provide a consistent, confidential space for counselling or psychotherapy, and we can discuss which format is most appropriate for your needs when we begin working together.
In some cases, longer or adjusted sessions may be used, for example,
with EMDR work, and these are agreed in advance and charged proportionally. Any changes to session length or structure are always discussed clearly beforehand.
All fees are transparent from the outset, so you know exactly what to expect. Invoices or receipts can be provided if required.
I understand that cost is an important consideration when choosing therapy. While reduced-fee spaces are currently limited, you are welcome to get in touch to discuss your circumstances.
If we decide to work together, we can make sure the arrangement feels clear, realistic, and sustainable for you.
The most important thing is that you feel comfortable taking the next step in a way that works for you.
Payment is usually made by bank transfer, which is quick, secure, and convenient.
If you are attending in-person sessions in Berkhamsted, you may also pay by cash or cheque if preferred.
Payment is typically made in advance of each session, unless we agree otherwise. Full details will be provided clearly at the start, so the process is simple and straightforward.
My aim is to keep everything practical and hassle-free, so you can focus fully on your sessions without having to think about administration or logistics.
Most clients begin with weekly sessions, as this provides consistency and helps the work build and develop between sessions.
However, there is no fixed requirement. The frequency of therapy depends on your individual needs, what you are working on, and what feels manageable for you.
We will discuss this together at the beginning, and you can adjust the pace as we go if needed. Some people prefer regular weekly sessions, while others may move to fortnightly sessions over time.
The aim is to find a rhythm that supports meaningful progress without feeling pressured or overwhelming, and that fits realistically alongside your life and commitments.
I currently offer appointments on weekdays during daytime hours, which allows for a consistent and regular therapy schedule.
I also have a limited number of Saturday morning sessions available until lunchtime for those who need weekend availability.
Availability can vary, so it’s always best to get in touch to discuss current options. I will do my best to find a time that works for you where possible.
My aim is to keep the process of arranging sessions simple and straightforward, so you can focus fully on the therapy itself rather than logistics.
Feeling safe and able to speak freely is central to how I work. Therapy moves at your pace, and you are never expected to share more than you feel ready for. The aim is to create a steady, respectful space where you can think and talk without pressure or judgement.
Sessions are available face-to-face in my private therapy room in Berkhamsted, online via Zoom, or by telephone, depending on what feels most comfortable for you.
For those who prefer a more informal setting, I also offer walk-and-talk sessions, which take place outdoors during daylight hours.
Whatever format we use, the focus remains the same: creating a consistent, grounded space where you can feel at ease, think clearly, and explore what’s going on for you in a way that feels safe and manageable.
I understand that plans can change, and sometimes appointments need to be rearranged.
If you need to cancel or reschedule, I ask for at least 24 hours’ notice so we can move your session to another time without charge.
If less notice is given, the full session fee may still apply, as this time is reserved specifically for you. However, wherever possible, I will always try to offer an alternative appointment.
My intention is to keep the process clear and fair, while also being as flexible as possible, so that therapy remains straightforward and manageable alongside your other commitments.
Your privacy and confidentiality are taken very seriously. Anything you share in our sessions is treated with care, respect, and held securely in line with professional and legal standards.
Full details of how your information is handled can be found in my Privacy Policy on this website. This explains confidentiality, the limited circumstances in which confidentiality may need to be broken (for example, risk of serious harm), and how your data is stored and protected in line with GDPR. My Terms and Conditions are also available here or can be provided on request.
The intention is to provide a space where you can speak openly, knowing that your privacy is protected and that what you bring into sessions is handled with professionalism and discretion.
