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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Find your answers here

HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU?

You can contact me by phone, email or via my website.  I will then contact you to briefly discuss your needs and arrange an initial counselling session.

HOW MUCH DO YOUR COUNSELLING SESSIONS COST?

Your initial appointment is free.  Sessions range between £50 - £60 for individuals (50 minutes) and £65 for couples (one hour).

HOW FREQUENT ARE THE COUNSELLING SESSIONS?

After your initial appointment, appointments normally take place on a weekly basis.

WHAT DO I DO IF I CAN’T MAKE AN APPOINTMENT?

If you can’t make your appointment, please let me know 24 hours in advance.  Where less than 24 hrs notice been given a charge will be incurred.  However, the charge can be waved in exceptional circumstances where notification was not possible.

DO YOU OFFER BLENDED COUNSELLING SESSIONS, ONLINE AND IN-PERSON?

Yes, I offer online and in-person.  This can be mixed but notice or arrangements must be agreed 24 hours before the session.

I’M WORRIED ABOUT MY CONFIDENTIALITY.  WILL MY DOCTOR OR EMPLOYER BE NOTIFIED THAT I AM HAVING COUNSELLING?

All information disclosed within your sessions remain confidential and will not be passed on to anyone without your permission.  However, in circumstances where the law has been broken or there is a serious risk of harm to yourself or another, disclosure to outside agencies may be required.  If such disclosure is deemed necessary, it will be discussed with you wherever possible.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN YOUR COUNSELLING SESSION?

You have finally plucked up the courage to book your first session.  Perhaps you have some thoughts circling around in your mind such as:

 

“Will she understand how I am feeling?”

“What if she thinks I should be able to deal with this myself”

“Do I feel safe telling this person my problems”

“What if I cry!”

 

It’s ok - you are not alone with those questions. I won’t judge, our work is confidential and if you cry that’s fine.  I want to help you reach the point where you can cry when you need to, without feeling overwhelmed.

 

So, take a slow deep breath, it is normal to feel nervous.  Revealing personal and private stuff can be daunting and making that first step to go to counselling can be a very brave move to make. 

 

The first session

 

The initial session will be a time to get to know each other a little bit more.

I will be interested in finding out about your story and what brought you to counselling at this time.

I will be interested in finding out what your goals are for counselling.

I’m going to share my thoughts and initial observations about what you have shared with me, so you know what I am thinking, and how it aligns with your experience.

I will share a general outline of what our therapy will look like although this may evolve as we work together.

We may agree an initial timeframe when we will review how the work is going.

This will also be a time for you to ask me any questions or concerns.

I will never pressure anyone or assume that you feel comfortable being my client, so we will either schedule our next session right there or you may want to go away and think about it.

 

Future sessions

 

Our future sessions will be a little different.  We may explore:

 

  • Your current and past relationships

  • Your childhood and past experiences

  • Situations or events you find difficult

  • How you feel

  • Patterns of behaviour

  • Your thoughts about things

  • Issues that have come up for you between our sessions or from previous sessions.

 

It is important to know that this is your space to bring what you feel comfortable talking about.

 

What emotions may I experience after a session?

 

It is common to feel a range of emotions after our sessions.  You may feel:

  • Relieved for sharing something important and feel heard and understood.

  • Exhausted because you have found the session challenging

  • Upset or overwhelmed because the session has triggered painful or difficult feeling or memories.

  • Energised because you have started to make sense of something or able to set yourself a new goal to work on.

 

Whatever emotion you experience I will make sure we leave time before the end of the session to see how you are feeling before you leave.

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