TWO therapists have been turning their hands to DIY, painting and flooring after they secured their first premises in Studley.
Therapeutic counsellors Lucy Sedgwick and Joanne Hanson both work with children at local schools but are preparing to launch their own therapy centre.
Lucy retrained as a therapist after a ten-year career in education, latterly as a Special Education Needs teacher.
She said :“I suffered burn-out. I was looking for something different – I had a degree in psychology and therapy appealed.
“Now I’ve come full circle and I am back in school, counselling children who have suffered trauma, abuse, serious family issues or depression.
“I’ve been friends with Joanne for quite a while and she had followed a parallel journey.
“We both offer our services to staff and parents at our schools, as well as working with the children, but wanted to set up somewhere of our own where we could create the right environment for clients.
Joanne added: “We looked around and felt this was somewhere we could really build something special.
“The last few years have seen growing awareness of the importance of mental health for people of all ages, so there is huge demand for therapeutic counselling.
“This property has quiet rooms where we can run individual counselling sessions, or even group sessions, without being disturbed.
“We want to provide a service that is of real benefit to the local community.”
Ian Parker, joint managing director at John Truslove, worked with the duo to secure the building on Studley High Street.
He said: “The premises at Marble Alley provided a clean slate in property terms, where Joanne and Lucy could put their own stamp on things.
“They are creating a new business that will provide a great service for people across the area.”
