Dr Jonathan Lloyd
Psychotherapist | Attachment Theory Relational Practice
About Dr Jonathan Lloyd
Dr Jonathan Lloyd is a psychotherapist, counsellor, supervisor and lecturer with around 20 years’ experience in therapeutic practice. His work is informed by attachment theory and a relational, integrative approach to psychotherapy, with particular interest in how relationships, past experiences and patterns of coping shape psychological wellbeing.
Jonathan holds a Professional Doctorate in Counselling from the University of Manchester and is a Senior Accredited Counsellor. He works in private practice in South Manchester and is the founder of Calm Minds, where he provides psychotherapy, counselling, supervision and professional training.
Alongside his clinical work, Jonathan has been involved in research, presented at professional conferences in the UK and internationally, and contributed to teaching and professional education.
Jonathan is also the founder of Calm Minds Healthcare, bringing his clinical experience together with an earlier career in business and corporate leadership. This work has contributed to his interest in relationships, psychological safety, workplace mental health and how attachment-informed thinking can be applied beyond the consulting room.
He is a Director and Executive Committee member of the International Attachment Network (IAN UK) and has contributed to IAN’s research, training and international activities..
Areas of Expertise
Jonathan’s professional interests and experience include:
Attachment theory and attachment-informed practice
Relational and pluralistic psychotherapy
Relationships and patterns of relating
Metaphor and its use in psychotherapy
Autism, attachment and family experience
Clinical supervision and professional development
Workplace mental health and psychological wellbeing
Executive coaching and organisational relationships
Research and international collaboration
His work is particularly concerned with how relationships, earlier experiences and established ways of coping can influence how people understand themselves and relate to others.
Jonathan brings together clinical practice, attachment-informed thinking and a broad relational perspective, applying these ideas both within psychotherapy and in wider professional and organisational contexts.
Metaphor, Relationships & Psychotherapy
A distinctive area of Jonathan’s work is his interest in metaphor and its role within psychotherapy.
Metaphors can provide a way of expressing experiences, emotions and patterns of relating that may be difficult to communicate directly. Jonathan is interested in how the metaphors people use can offer insight into the ways they understand themselves, their relationships and the difficulties they are experiencing.
His relational approach also considers how past experiences, current relationships and established coping strategies may influence a person’s emotional life and ways of relating to others.
book, Whales in the Desert: The Use of Metaphor in Therapy.
This interest forms part of his wider approach to psychotherapy, which draws on different therapeutic perspectives while placing particular importance on the therapeutic relationship and the individual needs of each client.
Attachment, Autism & Family Experience
Jonathan has contributed to IAN’s professional learning around attachment and autism, exploring how attachment-informed thinking can contribute to understanding the experiences of autistic people and their families.
As part of IAN’s Meet the Experts programme, Jonathan presented Attachment and Autism together with his son, Theo Lloyd. Their contribution brought together professional and lived perspectives, creating an opportunity to consider autism, relationships and attachment through both personal experience and therapeutic understanding.
This area of Jonathan’s work reflects a wider interest in how attachment theory can help practitioners think relationally about individual and family experience, while recognising the importance of understanding neurodevelopmental difference on its own terms.
Within IAN, this contributes to a continuing dialogue about how attachment-informed practice can engage thoughtfully with autism, neurodiversity and family relationships.
Research Collaboration & Open Dialogue
Jonathan has contributed to the International Attachment Network’s involvement in international research and interdisciplinary mental health initiatives.
As part of IAN UK’s participation in an EU Erasmus+ project exploring family- and community-based approaches to mental health, Jonathan travelled to Western Lapland with IAN colleagues Roxana Parra and Dr Nicolás Lorenzini to learn about the Open Dialogue approach.
Developed in Western Lapland, Open Dialogue brings the individual, their family and wider support network into collaborative conversations with mental health professionals. The approach places particular emphasis on dialogue, relationships and involving those concerned directly in discussions about care.
Jonathan and his IAN colleagues observed Open Dialogue groups and reflected on the approach through the perspectives of attachment theory and relational practice.
This work reflects Jonathan’s wider interest in how attachment-informed and relational thinking can contribute not only to individual psychotherapy, but also to family, community and mental health systems.
I
Dr Jonathan Lloyd & the International Attachment Network
Jonathan is a Director of the International Attachment Network (IAN UK) and contributes to the Network’s work in professional education, research and the development of attachment-informed practice.
His involvement with IAN reflects his interest in connecting attachment theory with clinical practice and with wider relational, family and mental health contexts.
Jonathan has contributed to IAN’s teaching programme, including presenting Attachment and Autism with his son, Theo Lloyd, as part of IAN’s Meet the Experts series.
He has also represented IAN in international research collaboration. As part of IAN UK’s involvement in an EU Erasmus+ project, Jonathan joined colleagues in Western Lapland to observe and reflect on the Open Dialogue approach to mental health care through attachment-informed and relational perspectives.
Through his work with IAN, Jonathan contributes to the Network’s continuing aim of bringing clinicians, researchers and practitioners together to develop dialogue between attachment theory, research and professional practice.
Book & Publications
Jonathan is the author of Whales in the Desert: The Use of Metaphors in Therapy (2018).
The book explores the use of metaphor within therapeutic practice, bringing together theory, research, case material and practical examples to consider how metaphor can contribute to understanding and working with clients’ experiences.
It examines how metaphors can be developed within the therapeutic relationship and considers their use across different approaches to therapy.
Whales in the Desert: The Use of Metaphors in Therapy
Dr Jonathan Lloyd | 2018
Clinical Practice
Jonathan has around 20 years’ experience as a therapist and works in private practice in South Manchester and online.
His therapeutic approach is relational and informed by attachment theory, with particular interest in how earlier experiences, relationships and established ways of coping can influence emotional wellbeing and the ways people relate to themselves and others.
Alongside psychotherapy and counselling, Jonathan has experience in clinical supervision and professional development.
Jonathan is an IAN-recognised attachment-informed therapist and is listed in the International Attachment Network Therapist Directory.
View Dr Jonathan Lloyd in the IAN Therapist Directory → here.
Explore Jonathan Lloyd’s Work
Find out more about Jonathan’s clinical work, professional activities and contributions to the International Attachment Network.
Calm Minds – Psychotherapy, Counselling & Supervision → here.
Explore Jonathan’s psychotherapy, counselling, supervision, training and professional work.
IAN Attachment Research & Collaboration →here.
Learn more about IAN’s research activity, including Jonathan’s involvement in the EU Erasmus+ project and the Network’s visit to Open Dialogue services in Western Lapland.
IAN Therapist Directory → here.
View Jonathan’s listing as an IAN-recognised attachment-informed therapist.