Dr Lydia French

Often, people come to therapy feeling that they are quietly carrying exhaustion, grief, anxiety, relationship difficulties, or a growing sense that life no longer feels sustainable in the way it once did. Hello, I’m Lydia. I’m a Chartered Psychologist and Psychotherapist with over 20 years’ experience in clinical practice and mental health research. I work with both men and women, with a particular specialism in women’s mental health across major hormonal and life transitions. I work with clients navigating anxiety, emotional overwhelm, relationship difficulties, burnout, grief, infertility, pregnancy, parenthood, perimenopause, menopause, and periods of identity change or disconnection from themselves. Many of the people I work with are thoughtful, capable, and outwardly high-functioning, often carrying a great deal alone. Therapy offers a space to slow down, think more deeply, and begin to understand what may be happening beneath the surface. My work is grounded primarily in psychodynamic psychotherapy and informed by attachment theory, CBT, somatic approaches, and contemporary psychological research. I completed a UKCP-accredited Master’s in Psychodynamic Practice at Oxford University alongside specialist training in Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy. My PhD at Bristol Medical School focused on infertility and IVF, with findings contributing directly to clinical practice and care. Alongside private practice, I continue to work in clinical research and consult on psychedelic clinical trials. I have published in peer-reviewed journals and presented nationally on mental health and psychological wellbeing, with a longstanding focus on infertility, parenthood, menstrual and hormonal transitions, and psychological change. I currently lead a research programme at Oxford University, in collaboration with the BACP, exploring how therapists can ethically and skilfully respond to altered and intensified psychological states within clinical practice. Reaching out for therapy can feel exposing and uncertain, particularly when you have already been carrying a great deal alone. I offer a free initial consultation so you can get a real sense of how I work and whether therapy with me feels right for you, without pressure or obligation.