What to expect
Seeking psychological support can be a difficult decision and it can be hard to know where to begin.
If you’ve never had experience of talking therapy before, you might feel nervous or worried. That’s completely understandable and it’s my job to help you overcome those feelings to enable you to speak freely and comfortably.
The following information may help you make a decision about whether psychological therapy is the right service for you;
Initial consultation
Once you have got in contact (via the contact page), I will get in touch and offer you a free, no obligation, initial consultation. This will be a chance for us to discuss your needs so I can develop an idea of how I can help you and if we would be a good fit to work together. This is also a chance for you to decide if I am the right therapist for you.
If you wish to proceed with therapy, I’ll send you some information to read before our first session.
Assessment
The first one or two sessions will be an opportunity to gently explore your current difficulties and develop a shared understanding. This will allow us to determine the best way forward and what this may look like. For example, how many sessions we will meet for, how regular these sessions will be and the type of therapeutic intervention we may use (for example, cognitive behavioural therapy or EMDR).
Therapy
From the assessment we can go onto work together to alleviate and manage your current difficulties in order to move forwards, despite life challenges. I provide information and teach skills to enable you to manage your difficulties more effectively. You may be asked to practise these skills between sessions to improve your ability to use them when you most need them.
Most commonly sessions are weekly to begin however it may be less frequent depending on your needs. You will choose what you talk about and we move at a pace that is comfortable for you. Progress will be reviewed regularly throughout therapy. The main therapeutic approaches I draw upon are Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR).
Sessions last for 50 minutes (though EMDR might range from 60-90 minutes) and can either be held face to face or online depending on your preference.
Please get in contact if you wish to discuss further or have any other questions.