FURTHER INFORMATION
About Psychological Counselling
WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM THE FIRST MEETING?
When we first meet, I will ask why you are interested in psychological therapy and how you hope it might help you. If appropriate, we might discuss what else you have tried to improve your situation or your previous experiences of therapy. Together, we will begin to develop an understanding of what you need and what you hope to achieve. I will suggest an approach I think might be helpful and we will discuss how many sessions might be needed.
This meeting is your opportunity to ask any questions you may have. There is no obligation to book further sessions after our first session and many people like to take time to consider their options.
WHAT ARE YOUR FEES?
I charge £120 per session, which last 50 minutes.
EMDR sessions of 90 minutes are charged at £150 each.
Sessions are payable by cash on the day or bank transfer in advance.
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I have a limited number of appointments for people with very low incomes, trainee psychologists/student counsellors. If this is you, please ask in advance whether any of these appointments are available.
HOW LONG DOES EACH SESSION LAST?
The first appointment will last 60 minutes. After that, appointments will last 50 minutes.
If we are doing EMDR therapy, sessions may need to be longer and may last up to 90 minutes.
WHAT COMMITMENT DO I NEED TO GIVE TO THERAPY?
Generally, therapy works best when we can meet weekly for a period of time - anything between 6 weeks to over a year. This all depends on what problems you are facing and what we are working on. I generally ask clients to commit to coming at the same time each week.
It is helpful to have a planned ending to therapy rather than a sudden stop, so we would normally arrange to end with at least four weeks notice. Some clients find it helpful to stagger the ending of therapy by moving from weekly appointments to fortnightly, then monthly.
CAN I CANCEL A SESSION?
Please give me at least 24 working hours notice if you cannot attend an appointment, otherwise you will be charged the full fee.
IS WHAT I TELL YOU CONFIDENTIAL?
It's important clients feel safe to express themselves fully in psychological counselling and so what you share with me is kept in strict confidence. There are exceptions to this that are the same for all psychologists and counsellors. For example, if you were to tell me something that indicates a person is at risk of harm through abuse, violence, exploitation etc then I am required to inform local authorities which may include the police. Of course, you may want me to share some information with your GP or another healthcare provider, in which case I will do this with your explicit consent. When we first meet, I will give you a copy of my terms and conditions which sets out the confidentiality in full. Feel free to ask me questions about this.