Dr. Lauren Jacobs

About Dr. Lauren Jacobs

Dr Lauren Jacobs is an HCPC-registered Counselling Psychologist and BACP-registered Psychotherapist with extensive experience supporting adults experiencing a wide range of emotional and psychological difficulties. Registration with both the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) means that Dr Jacobs works within established professional, ethical and regulatory standards, providing safe, accountable and professional psychological care. She has worked across NHS services, charitable organisations and private practice, supporting people from diverse backgrounds and with varied psychological needs.

Dr Jacobs adopts an integrative approach to therapy, drawing on psychodynamic, cognitive behavioural (CBT) and person-centred models. She believes meaningful psychological change develops through a strong therapeutic relationship and a deeper understanding of the experiences, patterns and relationships that shape emotional wellbeing. She works collaboratively with clients to explore how past experiences may influence present thoughts, feelings, relationships and coping strategies, while developing practical tools to support meaningful and lasting change.

A central part of Dr Jacobs’ approach is understanding the whole person, rather than focusing solely on a presenting difficulty. She considers each client’s history, relationships, identity, values, strengths, environment and wider circumstances, recognising that psychological difficulties rarely exist in isolation. Her approach is holistic while remaining grounded in psychological theory, clinical practice and the evidence base. She is also open to exploring spirituality, meaning and purpose when these are important to a client’s understanding of themselves and their life.

Her areas of expertise include anxiety, depression, work-related stress and burnout, low self-esteem, trauma, attachment difficulties, relationship challenges, identity and discrimination-related issues, and major life transitions. Alongside her therapeutic work, Dr Jacobs has experience assisting with ADHD assessments, contributing to the assessment process and bringing together information from multiple sources to support clinical understanding. This has strengthened her interest in helping clients understand themselves in relation to their diagnosis, including how neurodevelopmental differences can interact with emotional wellbeing, relationships, self-esteem and experiences of the world.

Dr Jacobs has a strong academic and research background. She holds MSc degrees in Psychology and Counselling Psychology and a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology from the University of Roehampton. Her doctoral research explored discrimination and psychological wellbeing, reflecting her broader interests in trauma, identity and social context. Human beings are always located in a wider society, which shapes how they experience themselves and the world. Alongside her clinical work and research, she has experience in teaching and guest lecturing within psychology. She remains committed to integrating current psychological research with clinical expertise and each client’s individual needs.

Dr Jacobs aims to provide a warm, non-judgemental and inclusive therapeutic space where clients can feel heard and understood as individuals, rather than simply reduced to a diagnosis or presenting problem. She recognises that people seek therapy for many reasons: support with a specific difficulty, understanding longstanding patterns, navigating a significant transition, or developing greater self-awareness. Whatever brings someone to therapy, she works collaboratively to understand their experiences, strengths and goals, supporting self-compassion, resilience and agency. This, she advocates, is essential for initiating meaningful, long-term change.