You may not have seen a counsellor or psychotherapist before and wondering what to expect. Once you’ve made contact I like to have a brief telephone conversation with you prior to you making an appointment. This gives you an opportunity to clarify that coming to see me is the right choice, if not I will offer you an appropriate referral.
Appointments generally go for 50 minutes and I usually recommend one or two initial appointments for us to get an idea of how we might work together before we make a commitment to work further. Therapy is hard work and it is a commitment not to be taken lightly. Once a mutual commitment is made to a regular appointment I will hold that time for you for as long as you continue to find it useful.
What you talk about in the appointment is confidential and private. The time is yours and the focus will be on what you want to bring to the session.
You may be wondering what the difference is between counselling/psychotherapy. I tend to use the terms interchangeably however, counselling is generally understood as something that is of shorter duration, with a focus on a particular issue whilst psychotherapy is seen as being a longer term commitment with a more in-depth exploration of a person’s life. Another way of explaining it is that it’s a therapy of the psyche.
People come for varying amounts of time, some come for just a few sessions whilst others attend regular sessions for months, sometimes years. Some people find that one session is enough, it all depends.
Please find information about the following issues that I work with: