There are times in all of our lives when we can feel overwhelmed and unsure of how to move forward. Often it is because we feel stuck, lost or unhappy that we start thinking about coming to therapy in the first place.
Therapy, or counselling, provides a place where we can truly come to know and accept ourselves. Sometimes building a real awareness of how our personality emerged the way that it did leaves us wiser about the relationship patterns we have and the ways we handle sadness, anxiety, closeness or loss.
Because it can often seem impossible to talk about the things that trouble us with those that are close to us, counsellors and psychotherapists are sources of independent help we can turn to when dealing with such problems. They are skilled listeners and thinkers who commit to regular meetings with their clients, offering them the chance to reflect on their lives in careful detail.
The Therapy Process
Choosing a Therapist
All clients should feel comfortable with the idea of ‘shopping around’ for a therapist. Building an effective working alliance between client and therapist is the most important first step in the work and you should be sure that you are choosing someone you feel you can trust to share what’s troubling you and getting in the way of you living more fully.
As such, we would typically start by meeting for an initial assessment session to explore what support you are looking for and to see whether we would both want to work together going forward. We would address the reason why you are seeking therapy, any ambivalence you may feel, and your expectations from the work. You will have the opportunity to ask questions about my expertise and ability to help and together we can assess if I can be helpful for your specific circumstances.
Contracting for Therapy
If all goes well in our initial assessment session we would then contract with one another for the number of sessions we feel we need and build in some time for occasional reviews to check on how things are going.
At this point we would sign a contract for therapy together that covers the details of our working relationship, such as how I hold personal information, client confidentiality, dealing with cancelled or missed sessions and so on.
Fees
All sessions are 50 minutes and cost £110
A small number of concessionary places are available for £80