Meet Lucy Wren
I am an accredited counsellor (MNCPS Acc.) and I spent twenty-seven years leading person-centred care in Scotland before I moved into private practice. I work from a quiet, private room within Health by Science in Leith, and online across the UK.
Accredited Registrant, National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society | Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register | Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy | Trained addictions specialist | Mindfulness teacher | LGBTQ+ affirmative
What I did before this
I did not come to counselling early. I came to it after a full career spent alongside people whose lives were difficult, usually for reasons that had very little to do with them.
I started out in teaching, then moved into development work, first with Edinburgh and Lothians Council on Alcohol, then as a Mental Health Development Officer across Mid and East Lothian. From there I joined Edinvar Housing Association, where I led their community care work as Area Manager and later as Assistant Director.
Different job titles, but the same question underneath all of them. What does this person actually want, and what is stopping them getting it?
The charity I helped build
In 1998 a former colleague and I founded Carr Gomm in Scotland. We began with one contract in East Lothian and an idea that was not fashionable at the time: that support should be built around what someone wants and can do, rather than around what is thought to be wrong with them.
I became Chief Executive in 2010 and stepped down in 2025, after twenty-seven years. Carr Gomm now supports more than four thousand people across Scotland, in their own homes and communities, from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Dundee, the Highlands, Argyll and the Borders.
I am proud of it, and I am no longer running it. What I brought with me is nearly three decades of practice at the thing counselling asks for most: listening properly, and taking seriously what somebody tells me they need.
Why I retrained
Running an organisation of that size means influencing a great many lives at a distance and very few of them up close. Over the years I found that the parts of the job I valued most were the smallest ones. Sitting with one person. Not rushing them. Not arriving with the answer already decided.
So I qualified with a Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy, trained as an addictions specialist and as a mindfulness teacher, and became an Accredited Registrant of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society.
This is the work I wanted to be doing all along. It is just that it took me a while to get here.
How I work
I am a pluralistic counsellor, which means I do not believe one approach fits everyone. Depending on what you bring and what helps, I draw on person-centred counselling, psychodynamic work, CBT and transactional analysis, and we move between them naturally. You do not need to know any of the theory; you just need to turn up as you are.
Who I welcome
I work with adults aged 18 and over: individuals, couples, young adults, professionals, and people in later life stages. I am an LGBTQ+ affirmative counsellor, and my addictions training means I can offer informed, non-judgemental support around alcohol, drugs and other compulsive patterns.
What it is like in the room
Clients often tell me the same things: that the space feels calm and unhurried, that they feel genuinely listened to, and that they are never pushed. My job is not to hand you answers. It is to walk alongside you while you find your own, and to offer tools and perspectives when they are useful.
Ready when you are
The first step is a free 15-minute chat, with no obligation to continue. If you have been thinking about counselling for a while, this is a gentle way to begin. You do not need to have it all worked out; you just need to want to talk.
In person in Leith, or online across the UK
Lucy is an LGBTQ+ affirmative counsellor, and people of every identity and relationship are welcome.
Address:
Counselling Edinburgh
98 Giles Street,
Leith,
Edinburgh,
EH6 6BZ
Contact Details:
Tel. 0131 210 0149
Email: lucy@healthbyscience.co.uk
Opening Hours.
Monday to Thursday: 8:00AM – 8:00PM