Frequently asked questions

Being an integrative psychotherapist means that I am trained in a variety of therapeutic approaches. The advantage of this is that I have a wide range of knowledge and skills from various therapeutic perspectives from which I can draw from, in order to adapt the session to suit the individual and specific needs of my clients. If you have had therapy before and you have a preference for, or you are averse to a certain therapy, we can discuss this at the initial session. It is important to me, as the client, you feel comfortable during the sessions and that the techniques we use work for you personally.

Sometimes life can be painful, challenging or frustrating and although we may have friends or family who are supportive, it can often help to talk things through with someone who is neutral and not personally involved with us. As a psychotherapist I will help you to talk about what has brought you to therapy, at your own pace.  It can be an opportunity to look at your problems in an unbiased way, from a new perspective, helping you to attain a better understanding of yourself and gain new skills and techniques to deal with negative thoughts, feelings, communication problems, relationship difficulties or unhealthy behaviours.

If I have a therapy slot available and the time suits you, we could meet as early as the following day and usually within one to two weeks. Otherwise, I will endeavour to see you as soon as possible, at a convenient time that suits us both. Contact me today to check my availability.

The initial session provides an opportunity for us to meet and for you to tell me a little bit about yourself, what has brought you to therapy and what you would like to achieve from it. As part of the initial assessment, I will ask you a few personal details about yourself and your current situation. I will also tell you a little bit about myself and how I work as a therapist and give you the chance to ask any questions or to clarify anything you don’t understand. Your professional therapeutic relationship with your therapist is very important. The initial session is an opportunity for you to see if I am the right therapist for you to work with and you are under no obligation to continue, if you do not feel this is the case.

Therapy entails talking to a total stranger about difficulties in your life that may be making you feel sad, angry, ashamed, anxious or scared.  When you think of it in these terms, it makes complete sense that you may be feeling nervous or daunted at the prospect. My role as your therapist is to reassure you and bring you to a place where you feel safe in the session, so that you can trust me with your issues and we will work at your pace to achieve this. If you have had a bad experience of therapy before, or you have any questions or concerns about starting therapy, it may help to share this with me so that we can explore some of these concerns and any fears underlying them.

The sessions I offer are 50 minutes long and to ensure progress is made, it is usually recommended that you will have a therapy session at least once a week. This is usually the same time each week at an agreed time which suits us both. However, I appreciate that life can be busy, so fortnightly sessions can be arranged, if this works for us both.

Every client is different and the approach needed varies. People grow, heal and change at a different pace, therefore it really depends on your own personal circumstances and what brought you to therapy in the first place.  It is often advised to complete an initial six sessions, with a review process towards the end, to see how you are feeling and whether you feel you need, or would like to continue with more sessions. However, most clients find that it is often beneficial to discuss when it might be a good idea to end the therapy sessions and to plan for it. This enables us to discuss the progress you have achieved in therapy and to review the techniques and strategies you have learnt, to ensure you feel confident to use them, outside of therapy.

Yes. As a registered member of the BACP, I am bound by their codes of ethical conduct. Therefore, everything that you discuss with me in our therapy sessions remains strictly confidential and between us. In exceptional circumstances, such as if you were to disclose to me something which indicated that there was a serious risk or harm to yourself or someone else, then I would be legally obliged to pass on this information to the relevant parties. I would try to discuss this with you first. More details are available in my privacy policy.

In order to achieve the most from your therapy sessions and make progress with your therapeutic goals, being actively involved during the sessions and in between, will help facilitate this process.

Clients who are open to trying new ideas or skills generally have more chance of making progress. We will work together in the sessions to identify elements contributing to your issues or difficulties and the areas you would like to address or improve and consider some new skills, strategies or techniques within your capabilities, which can help you to achieve this.

I appreciate that therapy may not be right for everyone, for whatever reason. However, it can often help to talk to your therapist about how you are feeling and try to explore whether there is anything that can be done to improve the sessions for you and how you are feeling within them. Sometimes it can be the case that the current therapist you are seeing is not right for you, or the therapeutic approach is not compatible for your needs. Either way, you are not under any obligation to stay with a therapist that you do not feel is right for you. It is very important that you find a therapist that you feel comfortable with and that you feel you can trust. This may not happen first time, so do not be afraid to ask or look around.

I offer online therapy via Skype or similar as well as telephone consultations. I would always recommend having our sessions face-to-face where possible, however I recognise the need to provide alternatives. Online therapy can work well for individuals who may be unable to travel to such areas due to work/family commitments or due to accessibility issues. Additionally, for clients who may be nervous about embarking on face-to-face therapy, online therapy can be a first step in treatment and be a viable way to get help. Crucially, for online therapy, it is vital you have a good signal or connectivity from your device to fast internet so that we can have a smooth discussion without interruptions or delays.