First Meeting and Fees
Before meeting I offer a free half hour phone call for us to talk about why you are thinking about therapy at this time and whether what I offer could be right for you.
I then suggest we meet for a first exploratory session either face to face or online.This is an opportunity to explore further why you are considering therapy, what you hope to gain from working with a therapist, and to find out more about the ways in which I work.
In this session there will be the chance if you want, to try out a short Creative Arts therapy exercise to help you show something of your current situation and how you might want it to change. There will then be time in the session to then reflect on the exercise together. People often find that creating a simple image of their situation can help reveal and clarify thoughts and feelings, and highlight what is most important to them.
These initial sessions cost £45. There is no obligation to continue working with me.
Engaging in therapy is a commitment of both time, energy and money. So after this first session rather than making an immediate decision we can both to take some time to think about whether it would be helpful to work together and arrange a follow up discussion by phone or email.
Fees for ongoing sessions are £50.00
Concesssions
I can sometimes offer discounted session rates if you are on a low income, unemployed or a college/university student. We can discuss this during our first session.
Access: Please note the therapy rooms I currently use are located on the first floor accessed by stairs; unfortunately there is no lift in the building. It may be possible in some circumstances to arrange sessions on the ground floor.
After the First Session
In order to build a therapeutic relationship it is usual to meet once a week for 50 minutes to an hour as a minimum.
The number of sessions someone has will very much depend on their needs and circumstances. If the need is for support through a crisis and focused on your present situation, therapy may only last a few weeks. If the focus of therapy is on longer term issues, more sessions are likely to be needed perhaps over several months or longer.
In the case of longer term therapy we will review together every few months to take stock of how therapy is going, whether the focus is useful or whether there needs to be a change
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The Therapeutic Journey
You may need to spend time in places that are uncomfortable and difficult, but also to feel safe enough to be open to discovering new landscapes and new ways of being.
To make a journey like this you need to trust those who accompany, support and guide you: in other words the therapist, the therapy process and therapy space. The therapist’s role is to provide a space and relationship in which you can trust and feel safe to explore feelings and experiences from your life, in ways that are effective and helpful.Key to maintaining this safety and trust are, assessment, supervision and confidentiality.
Assessment
Assessment sounds quite formal but what this basically means is us working together to get a picture of your needs, resources and areas of difficulty; and thinking about how therapy may be able to help. This process begins at our first meeting and if we agree to work together, may continue over the next few sessions whilst we explore what you want to focus on, and which of the therapeutic approaches I use are likely to be the most helpful way to begin this work. Sometimes the focus of work may be very clear from the outset, but at other times the initial work may be about clarifying what you want and need to focus on.
Supervision
I also regularly undertake training courses to extend my knowledge and skills as a therapist. This continuous professional development is an important aspect of any therapist’s development and an expectation for being registered by the Health and Care Professionals Council
Confidentiality
Sometimes it may be that a client I’m working with has told me something that makes me concerned about for their safety or for the safety of someone else in their lives. In this case I may to need to contact another person outside the therapy setting, in order to help them keep safe, but I would always discuss this with them first.
