Lucas Teague
Transpersonal psychotherapistAbout Me
I have worked as a therapist with clients in a number of settings over a 14 year period, as well as working in the healing professions for the past 19 years. Through this time, I have developed an effective means of supporting clients in crisis. I specialize in offering a holistic approach in the treatment of depression, anxiety, bereavement, and addictions. Working holistically means including your whole experience, as a means of helping you to gain a more complete understanding of the underlying issues related to these difficulties. My experience of working in this way has shown me that it can be one of the most effective methods of fostering lasting change.
As a psychotherapist, I work with male and female clients in looking to find a balance between providing a supportive and empathic environment, as well as challenging when needed. In this regard I seek to develop a deep and honest relationship, whilst also adhering to professional boundaries. I work from an Integrative Transpersonal approach, which means that I use Gestalt, Psychodynamic and Jungian approaches. As a Transpersonal Psychotherapist, I work with all aspects of your experience, including mind, body, and spirit. Working transpersonally may include addressing the need to have more depth and meaning in one’s life, or to understand a crisis as potentially being an invitation to have a deeper relationship to oneself and the world. My integrative training means that I can adapt my way of working to suit each client's unique needs, which may change as we work together. I am interested in how our experiences from the past shape our present, in terms of relationships, self-image and self-beliefs.
Having worked in mental health for a number of years I am able to receive referrals from client’s presenting with severe and enduring mental health conditions.
For some people beginning therapy can feel uncomfortable or embarrassing; believing that somehow we have failed to resolve our problems through our own means. Often behind this belief is a view of self-reliance that can leave us feeling isolated and anxious about not measuring up to other’s perceived expectations. As a psychotherapist, I feel privileged to hear the deep honesty and great courage that many of my clients have in their lives, and how these have helped them to cope in difficult and often challenging environments.
Whether this is the first time you have come to therapy, or you have previous experience, I seek to offer support that is tailored to your needs, at a pace that feels manageable for you.
Testimonials:
"I worked with Lucas for 8 months and he really helped me a lot with working on my fears and poor self-confidence. I started counselling mostly for my problems with relationships and at the same time I started to date my actual boyfriend. I was very scared and full of questions and I really believe that Lucas and the psychotherapy contributed in building my relationship when it felt so fragile in its beginning. My boyfriend and I recently celebrated 1 year of living together.
I think Lucas is really professional. I felt he gave me the right degree of space and at the same time through his humanity, the means to allow me the confidence to completely open to myself. He really loves his job....Thank you" (G.I)
"Lucas worked with me for over a year to address crippling, lifelong issues. I was obsessed with an ex-partner, emotionally numb, full of self-loathing and profoundly lonely, yet unable to start a new relationship or move forward in life because I felt toxic and worthless.
Lucas helped me to see how my addictive behaviour, relationship patterns, shame and self-loathing came from childhood wounds, and how I could heal by learning to connect with my lost inner child, love myself unconditionally and feel all my feelings.
I’m in my 40s and I’d spent a lifetime building walls to hide behind. An intellectual approach wouldn’t have reached me, but Lucas employed creativity, imagination and spirituality to help me begin to find out who I really am, and to like what I find. I’m now on a long road to becoming a whole person and building a rich, full life that I never thought possible." (S.R)
"I met with Lucas over a period of several months. I was going through probably the hardest time of my life, suffering from depression, extremely low self-esteem, self-harming and suicidal thoughts following a traumatic life event. I felt comfortable talking to Lucas; it was easy to open up and tell him my innermost thoughts without fear of judgement, in a safe, caring environment and quickly we developed a healthy relationship through which to tackle my issues. Through my darkest times of complete self-hatred where I only saw one way out, he was able to help me identify a grain of self-love that lay within, and nurture it and grow this self-acceptance of myself and who I am." (L.H)
"Having never been in therapy or even considered it previously I contacted Lucas as my life was rapidly becoming a car crash of unhappiness and self-destructive behaviour. I spent a number of extremely valuable sessions with Lucas discussing the underlying reasons and causes of my issues and his calm and insightful manner massively helped me to help myself. Looking back now, from a position where my life has improved enormously, I can honestly say that reaching out to Lucas was one of the best things I ever did and I cannot recommend him highly enough." (C.W)
Issues often worked with
Therapy offered
Client groups
Fees
I charge £65 per session for psychotherapy and supervision. I have some limited concessionary rates available.
Training and qualifications
I began training as a therapist 16 years ago, as I wanted to bring together my personal interests with my professional life. In this regard I chose to train as a Transpersonal Psychotherapist, as this provided me with a relational therapeutic approach, whilst holding a good basis to work from in understanding unconscious processes, and the deeper existential meanings of life that I feel we all search for.
The process of self-understanding is fundamental for me as a practitioner, and has continued through an on-going spiritual inquiry that allows me to know myself on deeper levels without the demands of established religious dogma. In turn my training as a counselor and psychotherapist reaffirms the importance of the individual’s truth, as a means toward greater meaning and wholeness in our lives.
Along with my private practice as a therapist, I have worked as a Bereavement Therapist at St Joseph's Hospice in East London. I have experience of providing therapeutic support to those nearing the end of their lives, as well as those who have been bereaved through the death of someone close to them. I have also worked as a therapist in a service in North London, providing longer term support for clients with severe and enduring mental health conditions.
Through my experience of working within mental health and trauma I have come to recognize that mental health issues are not something that an unfortunate few end up in hospital experiencing, but something that we can all be susceptible to in our lives.
I have experience of working with clients with addiction issues within my private practice. For many people, the experience of addiction can leave them feeling as though they have no self-respect or identity. For many people in this situation, their lives have become increasingly unmanageable through the pursuit of trying to “fix” painful feelings or unwanted thoughts or memories. The use of an addictions recovery programme in conjunction with therapy can provide a powerful healing combination.
I currently offer individual supervision within my private practice. I use an integrative approach, whilst holding a holistic focus, which works with the practitioner's mind, body, emotions, and intuition.
I am also an approved training psychotherapist at Re-vision.
Alongside talking together, I may suggest the use of mindfulness, creative visualization techniques, drawing, and dream work and non-contact bodywork. Mindfulness techniques can be an effective means of coming into relationship with painful emotions or difficult memories. Used within a therapeutic context these can offer a supportive means for individuals to harness their own innate wisdom and self-understanding.
I also use systemic constellations in my work with clients. This can offer a means of understanding and healing inter-generational trauma in an embodied way that allows an insight into the underlying family, cultural and societal systems at play.
I am a father for two boys. Being a parent has given me an insight into the complexities, demands, and rewards of this role.
I provide one to one work as a psychotherapist and am an accredited member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, as well as being a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. In order to maintain the highest possible levels of competence and care, I regularly undertake personal supervision and continuing professional development. I carry personal indemnity insurance and hold a full DBS clearance certificate.
I am registered with a number of healthcare insurance providers, including Aviva and AXA PPP healthcare.
As well as offering face to face appointments, I also see clients online, both within the UK and internationally.
My experience of having worked with clients online over a number of years, is that it can provide an effective means of working at depth and supporting real change. In this regard, many of the approaches I use within a face to face context have been successfully adapted to this format.
I offer both weekly in person and online appointments, or a combination of both. This allows the flexibility to move between working in person and online, as needed. Some clients find this particularly beneficial if their work or personal commitments require them to travel on a regular basis.
Higher Professional Diploma in Counselling (Lewisham College)
Post Graduate Diploma in Transpersonal Psychotherapy (Re-vision)
Post Graduate Certificate in Integrative Transpersonal Supervision (Re-vision)
Foundation in Systemic Constellations (The Centre for Systemic Constellations)