Do you offer fortnightly sessions?

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I only offer weekly sessions. In my experience, it is more therapeutic and ultimately more economical to keep up a momentum in the work.

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Do you offer a free initial consultation?

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I don't offer a free consultation as I believe the best way of getting a sense of how we will work together is to experience a full paid for session directly.

 

Will you give me advice?

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In a nutshell, no. I will not tell you how to behave, what decisions to take and how to live your life.

However, I may at times share knowledge and information on things like helpful psychological models, visualisations, grounding or mindfulness techniques if this is relevant and agreed.

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Also, if a client is in high distress and at risk, I may work in a more direct (but supportive) way to help them regulate. All to increase their safety and autonomy.

 

Will you give me homework to do?

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I don’t routinely set homework as part of my practice.

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However, if a client is in a more action-oriented phase of the work, it may be that we collaborate to work out what changes or experiments they might try outside of the counselling room.

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If you prefer the idea of weekly set homework and very structured, planned work, you may wish to investigate using another counsellor who places Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) at the heart of their work.

 

How long are the sessions?

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Sessions are 50 minutes long.

 

Will you discuss my sessions with anyone?

 

The only person I may discuss you with is my Clinical Supervisor. If I do, I will only disclose your first name (I will not share identifiers like your full name, address or date of birth). I will also withhold details if you happen to have an extremely unusual and identifiable characteristic (i.e. a well-known and rare position in the workplace, celebrity, etc).

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Having monthly supervision is part of keeping my practice healthy and accountable. It is also a requirement of my professional body.

 

What if we don’t feel compatible after our first session?

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Booking a first session isn’t a contract to continue our work. It is important for us to work out as best we can if we will work well together. I also appreciate that you may need to time to reflect on this following the first session.

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In the case that we decide that we will not continue, where appropriate I will share thoughts on possible other resources and options for you. If I need more time to process this, I will also send a follow-up email.

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I’m not sure that I’m going to be able to open up to someone I don’t know, what happens then?

 

I appreciate that it can feel like a daunting task to discuss your emotions and experiences if this is something you usually avoid.

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Often the fact that I am (initially) unknown is often helpful. As I am untangled in your life it may be freeing to discuss things with me. I often hear feedback from clients that it was easier to share than they had imagined.

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However, if you do feel stuck or inhibited, we must listen to and respect this. It may be that you are not ready to share a certain aspect of yourself. It is important not to push and rush these things, we may need longer to build trust.

 

I want to have counselling, but I feel like if I start to talk about what has happened, everything will be too much, like I might self-implode. How can I deal with this?

 

Where it is the case that discussing past events/traumas puts you at risk of feeling too emotionally dysregulated, we will need to pause what we are talking about. You may naturally know to pause but if not, if I see this is happening, I will ask to pause the discussion.

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It can be very unhelpful to discuss details of events when this happens. We would need to shift focus, to enable you to feel more grounded and connected. This may involve some very simple grounding techniques and/or simply talking about something else that generates a different feeling within you.

Everyone is different but, in this scenario, it would usually be wiser to focus on problematic symptom reduction for a time. This will involve your nervous system learning that it is safe in the here and now. For many clients, this is enough. Or, once this is achieved and sustained at a good enough level, there is the option to consider deeper work on underlying factors and the original trauma/s.  

 

I don’t feel like you will understand me, as you can’t have had the same experiences. How will this work?

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We are indeed different people with different life experiences. It is also an existential truth that another person cannot fully know us.

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Having said that, the intention to know you combined with the art of dialogue will I hope, provide some helpful experience of being seen and understood. By dialogue, I mean communicating in a way that leads to as accurate an understanding as possible of your experience, which is not tainted by assumptions and judgment. This connection can bring change and healing.

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And if a client has a strong desire to share their experiences with others who have had the same life experiences, I encourage this. Support groups (i.e. 12-Step Programs like the AA, etc) can run very well alongside counselling.

 

Can I continue our sessions if I’m abroad?

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Yes, this is possible. My insurance still covers me for this.

 

Can you accommodate flexible appointment times?

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I will accommodate needed changes where possible. But we will need the same time each week to make things work, both logistically and therapeutically.

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