What is the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?

Counselling is usually shorter-term and psychotherapy tends to be longer-term and may be used for more complex mental health issues. 

Do you work with families, children, young people or couples?

I work one to one with individual adults who are 18 and over.

What happens in a therapy session?

There is no typical therapy session. I am client led and do not have an agenda in terms of what needs to be discussed nor will I pressure you to talk about anything you don't wish to talk about, we will work together at your pace. I provide a safe and confidential space to explore your issues.

Who seeks psychotherapy/counselling?

People from all walks of life seek therapy to deal with life's challenges. I welcome you regardless of your culture, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

Do you offer student or concession rates?

Sometimes I am able to offer a lower rate depending on your circumstances. If you're worried about being able to pay, we can discuss this over the phone or via email before we meet.

How do I pay?

For video and telephone sessions payment is required via bank transfer 24 hours prior to the start of the session. For face-to-face sessions, you can either make a bank transfer 24 hours prior to the session or pay in cash on the day. For group sessions, the months sessions are invoiced for payment at the beginning of each month.

What happens if I can't make my scheduled session?

For individual sessions I require 48 hours' notice from you if you can't make a session, otherwise, payment for the missed session is still due in full.

When are you available?

I have week-day appointments available between 9am and 5pm. I also have a limited number of evening appointments available. I currently don't offer weekend appointments. 

How many sessions will I need?

I offer short term therapy and open-ended therapy. Some people come for a few sessions, and some want to continue longer. In our first session, we'll talk about what your issues are and agree an initial period of time to work together that feels right for you. We'll review our work together regularly, to make sure you're getting what you want from the sessions, and we'll keep an open conversation about how long you would like to keep coming for.

Will I feel better straight away?

You'll experience ups and downs in therapy, sometimes you'll feel like things are going really well, and sometimes you might feel like you want to quit. I believe the important thing is that we keep talking about how you're doing. It is important we work at a pace you can manage. You are always in control of what you bring to therapy, and it is my job to support you through difficult periods.

Are the sessions completely confidential?

The contents of our sessions are confidential. However, in order to work as effectively as possible with you and in keeping with my professional code of ethics, my clinical work is supervised by a more experienced therapist. This means that I share anonymized client material with them during supervision sessions. If there are things going on for you that mean there is a risk of harm to you or someone else, then it will be important for me to ensure all concerned are kept safe. In these circumstances, I may need to share information with relevant authorities. If this were to become an issue in one of our sessions, wherever possible and appropriate, we would talk this through in detail and work collaboratively to establish the most appropriate path of action.  

What personal information will you obtain and keep? 

When we first meet, I'll request some personal details, such as your contact details and a few things from your personal history and ask for your consent to keep this information for the duration of our work together. I don't keep detailed notes about my clients. In accordance with BACP code of ethics, my work is supervised by a qualified supervisor. I may note something down to speak to my supervisor about, but the notes are anonymous, and you will not be identifiable.

I won't share your data with anyone else without your consent. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you the right to privacy with your personal information (data). I work within the GDPR to ensure that your personal records are kept securely and destroyed when our work ends. Under the GDPR, you have the right to withdraw consent to use of your data, or request access to, rectification of, and erasure of these records.

I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). If you think your data rights have been breached, you are able to raise a complaint directly with them  

How do I start sessions with you?

You can contact me initially via email or by telephone. After the initial contact, we will have a chat on the phone to find out whether therapy is for you and what you are hoping to achieve, I do not charge for this. If you are interested in video therapy sessions, I offer a free 30-minute consultation to see whether working in this way feels right for you. If you decide that you would like to commence sessions with me, we will agree a day and time to meet. 

The first session is a slightly longer assessment session of 1 hour, in that session, we will explore what has brought you to therapy and what you hope to get out of it. You will have the opportunity to ask me questions and think about whether therapy would benefit you at this time. Crucially, the session will enable you to discover whether you feel comfortable with me. There is no obligation to commit to ongoing therapy after the initial assessment session. If you decide that you would like us to work together, all subsequent sessions are 50 minutes in length and usually weekly.

I offer short-term and open-ended therapy for individuals and long-term group psychotherapy. 

Assessment sessions are £60 (1 hour)

One to one counselling, telephone and video counselling sessions are £55 (50 minutes)

Group psychotherapy sessions are £35 (90 minutes)

A limited number of concessionary places are available for students and those on low incomes.