FAQ
Fees:
Each session: £ 70
Payment:
I accept cash or bank transfers and fees can be paid weekly or monthly. We can discuss your preference in our initial assessment.
How often are the sessions:
Sessions are held weekly on the same day and at the same time and will be mutually agreed when we meet for the first time. This session time will then be yours throughout our therapeutic journey ensuring that your space with me is consistent and secure.
How long is a session:
Each session lasts for 50 minutes and, in order to protect your privacy and that of other clients, they start and end promptly.
All sessions are 1:1.
Confidentiality:
As an accredited member of the BACP I am bound and adhere to their professional and ethical guidelines. To clarify confidentiality means that I do not discuss the content of our sessions with anybody else except as required by law (e.g. The prevention of terrorism Act).
We will discuss together any issues/need for disclosure and what that process entails.
Can I change my session time:
Life is busy and ever changing. I understand completely that work and family diaries can alter from time to time. If you or I need to change our regular session time then we will discuss this together and agree a new mutually convenient regular session time.
If you are unable to attend a particular session time because of a one-off commitment then, wherever possible, I will try and reschedule your session time in that week. However, please note that this is a busy practice and not all requests can be accommodated.
Missed/cancelled sessions:
Our commitment to each other is for weekly sessions whether you come once a week or more often. Your session time is held for you throughout our time together and as such missed/cancelled sessions are fully chargeable. I endeavour to give timely notice of my upcoming breaks and do not charge for these non-sessions.
My service is bespoke to you and as such I can offer time-limited or open-ended contracts. A time-limited approach will be more solution focused and we will agree a fixed number of sessions during your initial assessment e.g 12 or 20 sessions. Open-ended contracts do not have a fixed number of sessions.
How do we manage ending therapy:
Endings are a very important part of any therapeutic journey. In time limited work we are aware of our ending from the outset and we will be keeping this in mind and preparing you with coping strategies for the future. Endings in open ended work are planned and discussed between us and, depending on the length of your journey with me, may take a few weeks. For some an ending can be next week but for others there needs to be a more staggered ending, both of these options are possible and we'll work out together which approach you would prefer.
Can I see more than one counsellor:
It is not recommended that clients see more than one individual therapist at a time as this may lead to conflict and confusion particularly if the therapists are working from different methodologies. However, clients are welcome to see relationship/family/marriage counsellors in addition to individual therapy and, indeed, clients who are seeing outside therapists in this arena can find individual therapy very supportive to the process.
I want to come for counselling, what's the first step
Breath. Now you've made the decision to come please contact me - a phone call, a text message, WhatsApp or email are all fine. If you would prefer a written or verbal response you can let me know that in your message and whether there is a better day/time for me to contact you. Once we've connected we can arrange a first session.
