Lesley Gilbert
About me
Psychologist, Gestalt Psychotherapist, and Body Psychotherapist in English and Spanish with in-person and online consultations in Cádiz, Spain.
I am a psychologist and Gestalt and body psychotherapist for adults, adolescents, and children. I hold a degree in Neuroscience, Psychology, and Behavior from McMaster University (Canada).
A Canadian citizen, I have been residing in Spain for over 20 years.
I offer a warm and welcoming space in the historic center of Cádiz.
My journey
I offer a warm and welcoming space in the center of Cadiz. I am a sensitive, approachable and creative person, and I use different methods depending on my patient’s needs. I believe in patient-directed therapy. This means that you are the one who decides what you would like to talk about: I am there to listen and to guide you, not to judge you. The patient/therapist relationship is a relationship based on compatibility and trust. During the sessions we discover how to move forward in a caring and respectful way to make the changes you want to make in your life.
There have been two major turning points in my adult life. The first was adapting to a new culture and language 22 years ago. This has taught me respect for diversity but has also enabled me to discover that we are not so different. Learning a new language has taught me about silence and nonverbal language, skills that give me a lot in my day-to-day practice. For my English-speaking patients living in Spain, I find my ability to speak both languages and relate to the complexities of living in a new culture helpful in the therapeutic process.
The second moment of change was becoming a mother. I am a mother of two teenage girls and motherhood was the instigator for me to seek out humanistic therapies. Being a mother has made me realize how important it is to be in touch with myself, my body and my needs. The individual and group therapy that has been part of my training has accompanied me in the different stages of my daughter’s lives as well as being an essential component in improving my relationship with myself, with my daughters and with the other people in my life.
Gestalt therapy has taught me how to allow the expression of emotions, to take responsibility for my actions, and how to listen in order to open up communication.
I love plants, art and music. I play the guitar, sing and dance. Dance and movement have led me to train as a movement psychologist at Rio Abierto, where I have learned about nutrition in therapy and the information our bodies give us. I enjoy guiding groups in movement therapy. Among the issues clients have come to me with are: difficult relationships with parents and family, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, sexual abuse and low self-esteem.
