During my counselling work I have come to understand that there are times in our lives when we are confronted with situations that we are not sure how to deal with or that we feel unable to deal with.

There are also times when we need support and understanding from someone other than our close friends and family. It does not necessarily mean we are in crisis; it may be that we need a confidential space to talk, to be heard, understood and not judged.

Why just survive when you could flourish?

Counselling is most effective when you feel an authentic connection with your therapist. Knowing about your therapist’s training and experience may help you with beginning that connection, so here’s some information that might be helpful. If you have additional questions, please feel free to ask.

THE WAY I WORK

Each client is truly unique in the way that they experience obstacles and how they react or adopt to changes, no therapy plan is a “fit all”. As an Integrative relational counsellor I have studied a range of theories, philosophies and techniques that help broaden the way that I work with clients. I incorporate one or more modes of therapy depending on your needs to allow you to experience effective change in as short time as possible.

Often just being able to speak confidentially with someone who is non-judgmental and empathetic, someone who is purely focused on you, your needs and your development instigates positive changes to take effect. I work by helping you explore and make sense of your feelings, experiences and relationships.

My style is conversational and collaborative, in total partnership with my client which means we both have to do some work. We may focus on future and learning more beneficial ways of thinking and behaving or perhaps take steps to finding out how your present feelings and reactions connect to past events and experiences.

Occasionally when words can be challenging I may use creative tools and visuals like post cards with diverse images or stones which may provide a creative process of expression when words are difficult. Creative expression often serves as the pathway for unearthing feelings and frequently reveal hidden sides of ourselves.

FIRST SESSION

I think of the initial session as a test run. This is without commitment, it’s simply to give a sense of how we might work together. My style is not going to work for everyone, and to get best results it’s important that you find someone who you feel most comfortable with.

During the session I focus on getting to know you, making sure that I am the right person to help. I’ll be asking general questions about you as well as your presenting concerns and begin to form a picture of your expectations of therapy. Questions about your possible previous experience with therapy, Was it helpful?”, Which part did or didn’t work?” help me to form an idea of what your therapy goals might be and the most effective way to approach them.

Although the First session is usually slightly more structured, everyone is different and there is no right or wrong way to start, we begin with where you are….

HOW LONG DOES THERAPY TAKE

Each session takes 50 minutes. Therapy can be short-term (6 sessions), long-term (12 sessions) or open-ended. However, it is important to remember that therapy is not a quick fix and how long it takes to reach your goals depends on many factors such as how much you engage, the complexity and number of goals you want to achieve, and your readiness to start therapy.

Everything will be treated with the utmost confidence.

As a BACP member I fully abide by their code of conduct.