If you are considering seeking a counsellor, this can feel daunting, and understandably you may feel anxious if this is new to you. With this in mind, it may be helpful to have an idea of what you can expect from counselling to help you feel less nervous and more comfortable.
Are you struggling with a situation in life, which is causing you to experience distress and need some help? Would you like to improve your relationships? Do you want someone to talk to who will listen to you without judgment?
If you are considering counselling undoubtedly you will have questions, these may include…
- Is counselling right for me? – Our 20 to 30 minute telephone consultation, or face to face meeting (not charged for) will provide us with a space to explore your specific circumstances, which have brought you to this point. We will also gain a feel for each other and consider if we would like to work with each other.
- How do I know you are fully qualified? – I’m a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) which is the largest professional body representing counselling and psychotherapy in the UK. Being a Registered Member of BACP demonstrates that my credentials and fitness to practise have been checked and approved by an independent professional body. I hold a current DBS – Police check, alongside holding professional indemnity insurance.
- How will counselling help me? Together will will explore what is causing you to experience difficult and distressing life events, such as relationship difficulties, bereavement or abuse. This frequently leads to experience medical conditions such as depression or an anxiety. Counselling can also improve the quality of physical symptoms such as poor quality sleep or panic attacks. Stress can contribute to a range of physically linked conditions such as frequent headaches or migraines.
- What age ranges do you work with? I am experienced and received training to be able to work with children, teenagers through to adults.
- How will I know what to talk about? The space will be yours to to openly express whatever you wish, I will be here to listen to you very carefully, without judgement however with empathy. You will no longer be alone with whatever is causing you distress.
- What is an Integrative counsellor? Can you help me? I able to draw from a broad range of theoretical approaches, including humanistic, psychodynamic and cognitive therapy. In addition, I work from an existential perspective, which permits me to include the “givens of life,” which are inevitably as human beings to question life events and experiences. I am able to tailor my way of working to meet your needs in an holistic and individual way.
- What will it cost? Individual counselling costs £60 per one hour session or a 50 minute session can be arranged
Couple counselling costs £70 per one hour session and Discernment counselling £65 per hour
- How long will counselling take? Counselling tends to be weekly, however this depends on your circumstances and can be twice weekly or on a fortnightly basis. The length of therapy is also dependent on what your difficulty is and how deeply rooted, it may be.
- Will my counselling be confidential? Counselling sessions are confidential unless you pose a danger to yourself or others. We’ll talk about the issue of confidentiality in more detail during our telephone consultation.
- What happens if I miss a counselling session? Please let me know as soon as you can if you will be unable to make one of your counselling sessions. Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours notice are chargeable in full.