Our Team

"Owning our story and loving ourselves is the bravest thing we'll ever do"

BRENE BOOWN

Rabina Akhtar

Rabina is an accredited BACP counsellor, her main models of working are Internal Family Systems, Bodynamics, Polyvagal Theory along with CBT. Rabina been a counsellor for 11 years and works with people of colour and different cultures.

Rabina works with providing safety and trust in the space between her and others, her focus is in learning to create safety in the person, to encourage exploration and understanding of behaviours and patterns that have been learned by a person and continue whether they are helpful or unhelpful.

Internal Family Systems approach recognises there are different ‘parts’ within us and a core inner Self. It’s thought that our core Self is calm, connected and compassionate, but our access to it can be hindered by other parts which can become extreme in nature due to life experiences. This can lead to unhelpful behaviours, including addiction, perfectionism and self-criticism.

Her areas of interest and work are: anxiety, depression, low self esteem and low self confidence, anger, grief and bereavement, stress and work related stress, trauma and developmental trauma, working with abuse, anger, identify, religious and cultural issues and relationship issues.

Age range: 18 years old and over

“I was at a real dark point in my life when my husband sat me down to say I need to go see someone to talk. He sent me a link to all the counsellors in Peterborough and I started scrolling. Not really thinking I would find anyone, because I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I had seen counsellors in the past and it had just not worked for me at all. Meeting Rabina completely changed my life. She met me in a dark place, shattered into a thousand pieces and very slowly she glued those pieces together and supported me to be able to live my life. She has been there for me to encourage me, to see things from different views, showed me coping mechanisms for when my anxiety is taking over but most importantly she has made me understand that it is okay to not be okay and that no matter how dark things seem there are ways out of them. I can say without a shadow of doubt that had I not met Rabina I would not be where I am today and I intend to see her for a very long time.”

“I found Rabina after actively seeking out Internal Family Systems as a counselling modality. I didn’t want to drag up my past, but specifically wanted to clear patterns that have hindered my progress. I have trained to become a coach and noticed my own “stuff” getting in the way of being able to listen clearly to my clients. Rabina has gently guided and held space for me, drawing on her years of experience as a counsellor and her training in IFS as I have worked through my own unhelpful behavioural patterns which came from my childhood. Rabina is incredibly empathic, warm and kind. She clearly has a passion for helping people and I have loved (and continue to do so) my sessions with her. I feel like I’ve made more progress with Rabina than I have with anyone else and I highly recommend her as a counsellor whether you choose to explore IFS as a system or need support on your healing journey.”

I’ve been working with Rabina for about 6 months on a weekly basis, and I truly feel the difference. It was worth every penny and then some. I feel more at ease, and much more focused. The work we’ve done together has improved my personal relationships, my professional life and my performance as well. Where once I felt longing, now I feel peace. There’s still a lot of work ahead of me, but I wouldn’t want anyone but Rabina to accompany me on this journey.”

‘Rabina has helped me overcome several issues in a way that wasn’t always obvious or clear to me. She is very caring and the time spent with her is more like talking with a friend than with a professional counsellor. Rabina has helped me in many ways and I feel I am a better person and more confident in myself than I was before I met her’

“I have been a client of Rabina’s for some time now. I have always found her, as a person, warm, compassionate, incisive, open-minded and pragmatic. As a therapist, she is supportive, professional and effective. I have no hesitation in recommending her to anyone who is struggling with life’s difficulties.”

Types of clients: Adults and couples Types of sessions offered: In-person, Telephone, Online Location: Peterborough

Chris meredith

Chris is a qualified psychotherapist, he works in a pragmatic way rather than theory driven, with the aim of supporting people in the most effective way possible to explore their situation and bring about positive change. Chris works primarily within the existential model, and also uses CBT techniques, solution-focused brief therapy and transactional analysis.

Existential therapy recognises that life is often full of difficulty and suffering, and that even the strongest amongst us can be battered and overwhelmed by events.

However, the human spirit has remarkable capacities of endurance and can, with the right support, overcome. Sometimes, all that we need is a hand of kindness.
Chris describes himself as a generalist, working with nearly any presenting issue. His particular interest is in men’s issues, as men often struggle to benefit from traditional models of therapy, along with neurodiversity, adult survivors of adoption, bereavement, anxiety, and depression.
Age range: 16 years old and over

“Chris has been a huge support in my own development and growth over the past 2years. I started counselling due to the impacts from an abusive relationship, I was nervous of seeing a male councillor but Chris has helped me understand who I am and who I want to be, and has given me the tools and support to achieve that. The sessions with Chris have not only benefitted my personal life but also my work life which people have positively commented on the growth I have done in both. I now feel in control of me which I cannot thank Chris enough for giving me that back.”

Chris has been a really excellent, first rate therapist. I can’t praise him highly enough. He has been extremely professional throughout his engagement with me. Despite the fact that he took over from a different counsellor, he got up to speed practically immediately, and was adding value from the very first session with him – very little time was wasted on repeating things that I had already told the previous counsellor. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Chris to anyone, but particularly to people who come with complex problems that require a fair degree of thought and understanding. Chris was always willing to put in the spade work to understand the situation, and often had an anecdote or book quote to put things in context. He was always punctual, helpful, insightful, sympathetic and practical – everything you could wish for in a counsellor.

Chris has really helped me to understand some deeply-embedded patterns of behaviour and negative thinking, giving me a better appreciation of their origins and enabling me to begin to unpick their impact on my adult life. I have really appreciated his compassion and patience, as well as his willingness to robustly challenge my thinking when necessary. This has helped me to begin to develop strategies to initially recognise and eventually challenge my own negative thoughts and patterns of behaviour. Thanks to Chris’ support, I am beginning to feel more confident in myself and able to manage some of the things which had been holding me back both personally and professionally.

For the last 6 months I have been working with Chris, on understanding some of the deepest questions I have had about myself and my place in this life. His style has really allowed me to take the journey in whatever direction I have felt I needed, without judgement but with full understanding. He uses a wonderful mix, for me, of philosophies and thinking that is far wider than just say CBT or SFT. I really do appreciate that more holistic approach.

For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with depression and anxiety. Something I tried to deal with alone, but would always ultimately fail with. Until I met Chris, every day was a difficult challenge. Chris has been a calming positive influence on me. He listens and adapts, where not one issue is ever the same. Empathetic and understanding, Chris gets what it’s like to have ‘man issues’ for want of a better phrase! To put into perspective, since I started sessions with Chris, I’ve managed to go on, have two children and live a (for want of a better word!), normal, very happy homelife. I’d never have done this without his guidance. His intervention, help and kindness have changed my life for the very better. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Chris.

Types of clients: Adults Types of sessions offered: In-person, Telephone, Online Location: Stamford

We are here when you are ready to take the first step to gaining support for you and your wellbeing.

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Telephone: 07533 188662
Email: support@lotetreecounselling.com
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