I am a Fully Registered and qualified ADMP-UK Psychodynamic Dance Movement Psychotherapist (MA), Clinical Supervisor (SAP Diploma & Certificate) and Somatic Contemporary Dance Practitioner (PG-Dip & BA HONS). My work is grounded in psychoanalytic thinking, and I bring a deep curiosity about how our earliest relational experiences shape the way we move through the world, physically, emotionally, and relationally.
My approach is trauma-informed, rooted in the belief that therapy should feel safe, collaborative, and led at your pace. I work full-time in the NHS within secondary mental health care in Psychological and Psychotherapy Services, facilitating individual and group psychotherapy. Alongside this, I continue to teach contemporary dance with strong affiliations to DanceEast, in addition to providing clinical supervision, and bespoke movement-based workshops and projects. Historically, I have worked full-time in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, both within the NHS and in Charitable organisations.
A Background in Movement
Before training as a psychotherapist, I trained at the Laban Centre and spent over 20 years working in contemporary dance across professional, educational, and medical settings. My practice was grounded in choreological studies, Laban Movement Analysis, and community dance. Over time, my work naturally began to steer toward psychotherapy, revealing a deep and evolving connection between movement, creativity, and emotional healing. This foundation continues to inform my therapeutic approach, shaping my sensitivity to the unspoken, the emotional language of the body, and the transformative potential of creative engagement.
How I Work
I hold in mind the significance of early attachment, how we were soothed, seen, or sometimes missed, and how those formative relationships inform our capacity to connect, to trust, to regulate emotion, and to express need.
Drawing on psychodynamic and psychoanalytic theory, including the work of Freud, Winnicott and Klein, I listen not only to what is said, but also to what is felt. I notice patterns in gesture, rhythm, speed, and posture, clues from the body that can reveal how it has learned to protect, survive, and carry meaning.
Who I Work With
I work with all people. After an initial assessment and consultation process, this can include:
– Parent-baby and caregiver–toddler dyads.
– Children and adolescents navigating emotional, social, or relational struggles.
– Adults managing the impact of complex trauma, emotional overwhelm, or relational rupture.
– Individuals with a diagnosis of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, with co-morbid presentations.
– Those experiencing anxiety, depression, low self-worth, or burnout.
– People working creatively who feel blocked, disconnected from their bodies, or overwhelmed by performance pressures.
– Those wanting to make sense of how early experience still echoes in the present.
What You Can Expect
Therapy with me is a collaborative exploration. Sessions may be entirely verbal, movement-based, or a blend of both, depending on what feels right for you. You don’t need any experience in dance or movement. This is not about performance, it’s about expression, awareness, and connection.
We work together to create a space where you can feel into your body, explore emotions safely, and begin to understand how the past might be shaping your present. My role is to walk alongside you, helping you uncover and reconnect with parts of yourself that may have been silenced or forgotten.
For more information, please visit the Contact and Bookings page.
Lucy Brown Psychotherapy 