Forest of the Mind Counselling - Herefordshire

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Forest of the Mind Counselling - Herefordshire

Forest of the Mind Counselling is the work of myself, Lauren. Person Centred Counsellor in Herefordshire and member of the BACP.

I offer a safe, therapeutic space built on acceptance and empathy. I value each person as they are and listen sensitively to their experiences, helping them explore fears, build confidence, and make self-directed changes toward becoming their true self. I’m a UK trained, BACP registered person-centred counsellor with experience in both charities and private practice. I’ve worked with people facing stress, anxiety, low mood, self-esteem challenges, life transitions, grief, loss, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I also bring personal insight from living with autistic adults and children, over a decade of supporting unpaid family carers and a strong understanding the unique pressures that can come from rural and farming life, too. Starting counselling can feel like a big step — I’m here to make that journey feel a little easier, one step at a time. Sessions are available in person, online and via telephone.

04/06/2026

"When the right conditions, lifestyle and way of partnering with our horses are in place, a harmony exists and the horses have limitless capacity to support, hold space and elicit healing in people."
— Angela Dunning, *The Horse Leads the Way*

Reading this, I was struck by the parallels between equine-assisted therapy and my work as a person-centred counsellor, and perhaps what has drawn me to both approaches.

Dunning's emphasis on facilitative conditions, healing relationships, and non-directive support closely mirrors Carl Rogers' belief that growth and healing emerge naturally when the right conditions are present. In person-centred counselling, the therapist doesn't "fix" the client. Instead, they offer empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence, creating a space where clients can reconnect with their own capacity for growth and self-understanding.

The phrase "holding space" particularly resonates with me. Whether in the counselling room or alongside a horse, healing often happens within a relationship that is accepting, authentic, and free from judgement. Both approaches recognise that transformation is not something we do to people, but something that can unfold when the conditions are right.

Neither the horse nor the counsellor is the source of healing. Rather, they help create an environment in which healing can occur.

📩 Get in touch today to arrange a confidential consultation and take the first step towards positive change 🔗 www.forestofthemind.com

🐴💚

31/05/2026

🌱 Carl Rogers' 7 Stages of Process: A Journey Towards Growth and Self-Acceptance

In person-centred therapy, Carl Rogers described psychological growth as a fluid journey rather than a fixed destination. His 7 Stages of Process outline how people can move from emotional rigidity and defensiveness towards greater openness, self-awareness, and self-trust.

✨ Stage 1: Fixed and Distant
Feelings are largely hidden or denied. Problems are seen as being caused by external factors, and personal emotions remain unexplored.

✨ Stage 2: Beginning to Open
Some expression emerges, but often about situations or other people rather than the self. Emotions are discussed from a distance.

✨ Stage 3: Tentative Self-Reflection
The individual begins to reflect on themselves and acknowledge personal experiences, though often in relation to the past.

✨ Stage 4: Feeling in the Present
Current emotions become more visible and acknowledged, even if they are accompanied by uncertainty, fear, or self-criticism.

✨ Stage 5: Ownership and Awareness
Feelings are experienced more openly and accepted as one's own. Personal responsibility increases, alongside a clearer understanding of choices and possibilities.

✨ Stage 6: Deep Acceptance
Emotions are fully experienced and integrated. There is less fear of inner experiences and greater trust in the self.

✨ Stage 7: Living Authentically
The individual becomes more open, adaptable, and self-accepting, trusting their own inner wisdom and continuing to grow independently.

💡 It's important to remember that growth is rarely linear. We often move back and forth between stages depending on what we're exploring and experiencing in our lives.

👣 Every step, however small, is part of the process.

✨ Your journey. Your voice. Your growth.

📩 Get in touch today to arrange a confidential consultation and take the first step towards positive change 🔗 www.forestofthemind.com

19/05/2026

Over the last 10 days, my youngest filly, Winnie, has been on box rest. As the days passed, I noticed her becoming increasingly hyper-vigilant, withdrawn, anxious, and emotionally dysregulated.

Horses are herd animals — connection is central to their sense of safety and nervous system regulation. Watching Winnie struggle in the absence of her herd made me reflect on something deeply human:

We are not so different.

From a Person-Centred Counselling perspective, emotional healing happens through safe relationships built on empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard. When people experience prolonged isolation, disconnection can quietly erode self-worth, trust, and emotional resilience.

This is part of what makes horses such powerful co-facilitators in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy. Horses respond to what is authentic, not what is performed. They mirror emotion honestly and without judgement.

In equine-assisted work, horses can help clients reconnect with emotions, boundaries, trust, and relational safety — often without needing words.

I witnessed this so clearly when Winnie was finally reunited with her herd after 10 days apart. The shift in her nervous system was immediate. She softened. Reconnected. Regulated.

Healing rarely happens in isolation.
It happens in connection. 🐴🤍

🔗 www.forestofthemind.com

12/05/2026

Mental Health Awareness Week 🌿

Boundaries are not barriers to connection — they are part of healthy relationships. From a person-centred counselling perspective, boundaries help create safety, authenticity, and self-respect.

Saying:
✨ “I need some time to rest.”
✨ “I’m not able to take that on.”
✨ “That doesn’t feel right for me.”

…is not selfish. It’s an act of self-awareness and self-care.

When we listen to our own needs with compassion, we give others permission to do the same. Real growth happens when people feel accepted, heard, and free to be themselves — without pressure to overextend or please everyone.

This Mental Health Awareness Week, remember:
💚 You are allowed to protect your peace.
💚 You are allowed to say no.
💚 You are allowed to take up space exactly as you are.

🔗 www.forestofthemind.com

11/05/2026

Taking time to rest is not a luxury — it’s a human need.
In a world that often praises being busy, choosing rest can feel uncomfortable, even undeserved. But rest is not something we have to earn.

As a person-centred counsellor, I often see how deeply people carry the pressure to keep going, keep coping, and keep giving — even when they are exhausted. Mental Health Awareness Week is a gentle reminder that slowing down matters too.

Rest can look different for everyone:
✨ Saying no without guilt
✨ Taking a quiet moment for yourself
✨ Allowing emotions to surface
✨ Sleeping, pausing, breathing
✨ Letting yourself be supported

You do not have to reach breaking point before you deserve care.

Sometimes the most compassionate thing we can do for ourselves is simply to stop and listen to what we need.

🔗 www.forestofthemind.com

22/04/2026

Safety isn’t just spoken, it’s felt.

Like a horse resting its head in a human’s lap, trust only emerges where there is true psychological *and* physical safety. That quiet moment of surrender doesn’t happen by chance — it’s built through consistency, attunement, and respect.

In person-centred counselling, the therapeutic relationship becomes that safe space. When someone feels deeply heard, accepted without judgment, and free from harm, they can begin to lower their guard… and healing can start.

Safety isn’t an “extra” — it’s the foundation. 🐎💛

🌐 www.forestofthemind.com

20/04/2026

In these photos you can see a young person resting beside a horse. The horse then stands, offering quiet safety. An anxious filly is drawn in, then settles too. In the end, horse and human mirror each other—calm, grounded, at ease.

Like horses, we’re drawn to regulated, safe presence—not because we’re told to be calm, but because calm is felt.

The herd doesn’t force safety—it senses it.
🌿 Maybe that’s our invitation too 🌿

24/03/2026

Support networks matter 👥🌱

From a person-centred perspective, it’s not just about having people around you. It’s about having spaces where you feel truly heard, accepted, and understood without judgement.

From a person-centred counselling perspective, the quality of connection matters more than the quantity. One genuine relationship, grounded in empathy, authenticity, and unconditional positive regard, can be more healing than a room full of people who don’t really see you.

Support isn’t about fixing or advising. It’s about being with someone as they make sense of their own experience—at their own pace, in their own way.

If you’re part of someone’s support network, sometimes the most powerful thing you can offer is simple: presence, patience, and real listening.

And if you’re seeking support, you deserve spaces where you can be fully yourself—no masks, no pressure, no need to be anything other than who you are. 💬

📩 Now welcoming new clients

📞 Phone: 07759 565102
📧 Email: [email protected]
🌐 Website: www.forestofthemind.com

22/03/2026

Sunday stillness 🌿🐎

There’s something quietly profound about watching horses at rest. No striving. No pretense. Just presence.

In the spirit of Carl Rogers’ philosophy, this is what it means to truly *be*—to exist without conditions of worth, without the pressure to perform or prove. Horses embody this effortlessly, they invite us to do the same.

They don’t ask us to be anything other than authentic. They respond not to our words, but to our inner state—gently guiding us back to congruence, to honesty, to self-acceptance.

Maybe that’s what self-care looks like today:
Not doing more, but softening into who you already are.

Resting, like they do.
Grounded. Present. Enough. 🤍

17/03/2026

"People are just as wonderful as sunsets if you let them be. When I look at a sunset, I don't find myself saying, 'Soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner.' I don't try to control a sunset. I watch with awe as it unfolds."

Carl R. Rogers, A Way of Being.

Address

The Hillfort Centre At Caplor Farm
Hereford
HR14PT

Website

https://forestofthemind.com/

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