Frequently Asked Questions

You are on my counselling page which means you are interested in therapy and that is all that is needed to come to therapy. An interest. An interest in yourself, wanting to dedicate the time to invest in yourself.

No-one is broken in my eyes, they are just in need of a compassionate space to be heard where they are at this moment in time. 

I will introduce myself and ask you to very briefly explain why you are seeking therapy now. We will have a casual chat and we’ll decide together if you would like to make an initial appointment. 

The intro call is an opportunity for you to speak to me briefly and notice how it feels to speak with me on the phone. I always ask at the end of every intro call how it has felt talking to me and I encourage you to be honest and we can go from there. Once we meet, there is also an opportunity to be aware of you feel sitting in the room with me and we will discuss this in the initial session and if you would like to move forward with me.

I will meet you at the door and welcome you into my therapy room. We will both take a seat. I will begin the session by asking you some basic details like your address etc. We will then discuss your background and history as much as you would like to tell me. There is no rush to tell me anything, it is at your own pace. I will ask more direct questions in the first session to enable me to have an overview of you, but there is no obligation to answer anything that you don’t feel comfortable to.

It’s odd, sitting opposite someone you don’t know, talking about yourself and I totally get that. It’s an unnatural position to be in especially when you are struggling to make sense of life in your head at the moment. However, I will name that - I won’t stare at you waiting for you to say something. I won’t be waiting for you to say something that is ‘valuable’ enough for therapy. So many clients worry about what they are going to talk about and how they will ‘fill’ the time as if I have an expectation of them to perform in some way. That is not the case at all.

The number of sessions needed by any client is a very difficult question to answer at the outset of therapy. In our initial meeting I will be listening to your needs and will be able to think with you about the length of our time together. More often than not this will be an open-ended contract and we will end at whatever point you and I feel is appropriate. If you are coming for a particular issue and it is clear that there are time constraints attached to the problem e.g you are going to University, or you are getting married or moving jobs then we will agree a more time-limited contract. This can be any number of weeks (e.g. 6 or 12 or 20). Contracts longer than 20 weeks fall under open-ended work.

Psychodynamic therapy identifies the roots and deeper meaning behind your thoughts, feelings, behaviours and patterns. It is a form of therapy that helps you make sense of your experiences, who you are, and how you relate to yourself and others.

It works by first establishing a therapeutic relationship built on trust, safety and understanding. Within this relationship, we can begin to explore your inner world with curiosity and compassion, helping unconscious patterns become more understood over time.