FAQs

 The Basics

  • Yes, everything you say in therapy is treated as confidential. I am registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and as such I am required to have regular supervision where I discuss my therapeutic practice. I may discuss some of the details of our sessions to help me learn from and improve my practice, however this is done without sharing your personal details, preserving anonymity. The one exception to this principle of confidentiality is the safety of yourself or another person. If at any point in our work together, I am concerned that you or another person is at risk of serious harm, I may seek additional assistance on your behalf. I will make every effort to discuss this with you before any action is taken.

  • I tend to offer a fixed appointment at the same time every week or fortnight, however flexibility is offered for those who require it. I like to come to an agreement that feels suitable for the both of us and allows you to get the most out of our sessions. Usually this means finding an appointment time and frequency that fits into your existing schedule and doesn’t clash with your other needs and responsibilities. Unfortunately I don’t offer monthly or ad hoc sessions, as in my experience, these are simply too infrequent to be therapeutic. My current openings for weekly or fortnightly sessions are listed in my Fees & Availability

  • Everyone’s therapeutic process is unique and there is no set guide for how quickly things will get resolved. This depends on a number of factors - Your reasons for coming to therapy, what else is going on in your life at the moment, and how much other support you have. Though it's safe to say more than a session or two is necessary to make any headway there isn't necessarily a correct answer, but we can collaborate together to help you make the ultimate choice for yourself.

    As a general rule, I estimate that a minimum of 8-10 sessions (3 – 6 months) would be required to make a significant therapeutic change. I see most clients for an average of 18 months to 2 years.

  • As a Person Centred therapist, I don’t tend to believe different problems need different therapeutic strategies. I think that the healing factor in therapy is the relationship at the heart of our sessions.  By viewing you as a whole person with your own history, values, relationships, and inner world, I work to understand your unique experience and how your current difficulties connect to your past and current circumstances.

    If you feel comfortable identifying with a particular disorder or diagnosis this is fine, and it doesn’t rule out working with me. However I would interested in exploring how this uniquely affects you and how your own personal life experiences, past and current, contribute to your difficulties.

 The Process

  • The initial consultation is a low stakes opportunity for both of us to get to know each other and decide if we could work together. I tend to keep this informal and treat it as a two way conversation. On my end, I am interested in learning your reasons for seeking therapy, the difficulties you are experiencing and what you think you need help with. I don’t necessarily expect you to have a clear answer to all of this, and it’s okay if you feel you don’t fully understand what’s not working for you. You can say as much or as little as you want. If you're struggling to think of what to say, I can ask questions or encourage you to say more if that's helpful. I won’t ask overly intrusive questions or force you to talk about anything that feels too vulnerable or uncomfortable.

    You are welcome to ask any question you want about me or therapy in general. I would expect to share a bit about my therapeutic approach and how I tend to work. And we could discuss if this met your expectations for what you want from a therapist. There is no obligation to continue past the initial consultation. At the end of this session we can either agree to move forward, or you can decide that I not the right fit for you, with no hard feelings.

  • This is totally natural and expected. Almost everyone coming to therapy feels vulnerable and it is nerve wracking to begin to open up. There is no expectation from me that you would automatically trust me or feel safe enough to do so. Part of the beginning stages of therapy involves building a raport together and getting more comfortable talking to each other. It is okay to be honest about this and agree to focus on safer topics or easier problems to begin with.

    It is also worth saying that it is completely natural to want to avoid and distance yourself from negative feelings and uncomfortable experiences. It is human nature to want to resist and protect ourselves from the pain we feel. Part of working therapeutically involves identifying and understanding your resistance and becoming aware of when and how you are using this. It is an normal and expected part of the therapeutic process. 

  • Person centered therapy is a non-directive approach, therefore it tends to be client led. However this does not necessarily mean we cannot work collaboratively to agree on a goal or something for you to work on between sessions. If this is something you would find helpful, I am happy to discuss this with you and figure out how we can make this a part of our work together. Coming to an agreement about what you are trying to accomplish in therapy can be something that we can refine over time and help guide this process. 

  • I know right? It’s hard to trust the process. While I mostly work opened ended with people I tend to check in and have a review with them every 6-8 sessions. This allows us both to gain clarity around what we have learned and what still feels like a struggle. You may prefer to work on one issue at time, or it may be about gaining clarity about how several parts of your life are interconnected. It is worth noting that the therapeutic process is often not linear and sometimes it may feel like taking two steps forward and one step back. Reviewing regularly will help to clarify if you are progressing, and there is something therapeutic happening or if we need to change focus or do things differently.   

  • Ultimately the aim of therapy is not to fix you or make you immune to life’s problems but to help you gain the self awareness and autonomy to confidently address these problems as and when they occur.

    Some signs that you might be at the end of the therapeutic process might be:

    • The things you used to struggle with don’t feel as bothersome

    • You trust your instincts and your abilities to cope with what life throws at you.

    • You appreciate yourself as a work in progress and aren’t too hard on yourself when you make a mistake or fall short

    • You have trust in your relationships and can communicate honestly and effectively with loved ones.

    • You feel like your sessions are about catching up and reporting your successes rather than working through a problem

 The Relationship

  • Our first phone call and our initial consultation session can help you decide this. I can explain the person centered approach and give a sense of how this could be helpful and therapeutic for your current difficulties. This might help you clarify if my way of working is right for you, or if you have a different expectation of what a therapist should or shouldn’t do. There can be a bit of trial and error involved in the beginning stages of therapy, and it may take several sessions to feel out our relationship and get on the same page.  I would hope that when working with me:

    • You feel heard and understood

    • You find my responses validating and not confusing

    • You feel free to give me feedback if something isn’t working

  • You are allowed to ask anything you want to know…..however I can’t guarantee an answer. Generally speaking I don’t mind sharing some personal details or showing up as a fellow human being. I appreciate it can be vulnerable to open up to a therapist and sharing some of my own self and vulnerability can help with building trust. How much self-disclosure I use and why can be a tricky line to walk. If you ask me a personal question I might be interested in your intentions behind asking or what my answer will reveal about our relationship – are you simply curious or are you trying to check if I might judge you for a particular behaviour? Do you want to know my opinion on something so you can edit yourself to please me, or avoid offending me? Do you assume I simply know more or know better than you do?  So, in short, your questions are always welcome, but its likely they will also be used therapeutically.

  • Yes! This is so important. I always want to know how you are experiencing the therapeutic relationship and what is and isn’t working for you. Because every client is unique I don’t always know how I am coming across and what is and isn’t helpful. Getting it right for you is my first priority and I want to hear from you.

    Even if your request is something that I am not able to do or something that conflicts with approach I still think it is valuable to bring this up. Clarifying roles and expectations is a key part to the process and is a necessary for building our therapeutic relationship. I aim to be checking in and with regularly as part of the review process, however you are welcome to bring your feedback at any time.

  • Maybe. This is something I am willing to discuss if you felt it would be useful or therapeutic to you. I would be curious in discussing your intentions behind this and what you hoped to get out of it. It would be important to clarify the boundaries of the contact outside of sessions and to be very explicit about the agreement and the expectations on both sides. But I am open to discussing this with you and seeing what could be agreed.

  • I do. I am having real relationships with real people who matter to me. Being a therapist is a vocation not a job, and I don’t truly believe it is possible to survive in the profession without genuinely caring about clients. My therapeutic approach requires me to wok with my  heart as well as my head and I hope that comes across in the ways I have described it and introduced myself here.