About Welcome to LENSS

Our Motivation and Therapeutic Approach

Our journey began with a passion for understanding the intricate patterns of behaviour and the desire to make a tangible difference in people's lives. We recognise the importance of thinking about the systems people live in and how they form relationships. We are continuously developing our practice and take pride in the work we do. Every client is different, and every need is different; this means at the end of the first session, we share a formulation on how we can work together to navigate their unique life challenges.

Expertise and Client-Focused Therapy

Our expertise lies in identifying and addressing behavioural patterns influenced by family dynamics, personal history, and environmental factors. We believe in the power of therapy to not only alleviate symptoms but also to foster growth, resilience, and fulfillment in one's life. Beyond individual therapy, we are deeply invested in understanding how systems around us influence our lives and how family/partner/work relationships can impact individual well-being. Our goal is to create a supportive and safe environment where clients can understand what motivates their behaviour. It is important to understand feelings and where they stem from to create change, rather than treating the feeling without a deeper understanding of it, allowing it to manifest again.

Commitment to Professional Development and Innovative Therapy

Continual learning is a cornerstone of our practice. We regularly engage in professional development to stay abreast of the latest research and therapeutic techniques. This commitment to growth ensures that our clients benefit from the most effective and compassionate care possible. We believe therapeutic thinking is a skill and often set questions at the end of each session to think about things covered. Often, people say therapists have suggested journaling but feel stuck on where to start; questions related to the session can often trigger deeper self-exploration. We embrace the idea of brain gym therapy being used as a space to help remain emotionally fit.

Meet the Team

Linda Hafez

Founder & Lead Psychotherapist

Linda Hafez is the founder of LENSS and brings over 15 years of dedicated experience as a Psychotherapist, Family Practitioner, Therapeutic Supervisor, and NVR Parenting Programme facilitator. She is an accredited member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and a member of the AFT (Association of Family Therapy), ACAMH (Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health), and BICA (Professional Infertility Counselling Association).

Linda began her career as a secondary school-based therapist and went on to build therapy departments in several schools. She has a particular passion for working with children, young people, and families, understanding the importance of the systems that surround them. Her work extends beyond the therapy room - she has published papers on the BACP website and in the AFT Context magazine, and has contributed to Inside Time magazine, reaching fathers in prison across the country.

Previously teaching counselling to first-year students, Linda now provides private supervision to trainees and has secured contracts with local authorities and charities to provide mental health support. She is a trained EMDR practitioner, registered with EMDR UK, and continues to expand her expertise to offer clients the most effective therapeutic approaches available.

Linda's therapeutic philosophy centres on understanding the whole person within their context - their emotions, their narratives, the systems they live in, and their sense of self. This holistic approach forms the foundation of LENSS and guides all the work undertaken by the practice.

Linda's Published Articles

Linda has written several articles for teaching staff and families on the importance of working with the systems surrounding both children and their families, as well as the well-being of staff. These articles include contributions for BACP on working with children and the systems around them in schools, and conducting outreach work with charities to establish specialist groups within schools. She has also written articles for Context magazine exploring staff well-being when working with children and the importance of supervision. Her work has also appeared in Inside Time, a magazine available to every male prisoner in the country, focusing on fathers in prison and the importance of understanding the child's experience of visiting prisons and the sense of loss families feel when a father is removed.