Also known as talking therapy, Counselling offers you the chance to explore your thoughts and feelings in a safe non-judgmental confidential space. You are the expert on you so sessions will be lead by you at a pace that feels comfortable. My job is to support you along this journey whilst building a working trusting relationship helping to facilitate change.

The number of sessions is tailored to your requirements. There is no rush in the counselling process we will work at your pace, you may find you need a couple of sessions or that you would benefit from longer term sessions. We will discuss a plan in our initial consultation which is a FREE 20 minute chat allowing us to connect and see if we are a good fit. If we decided to work together then we will review our work checking in with how you are finding the sessions and if there any changes we need to make.

Sessions are generally made weekly at the same day and time this aids the therapeutic relationship keeping structure and attention to the work being done.

The first session will start by me explaining the working contract and making sure that you fully understand what is expected for us to work together in a safe way. You will receive a Welcome pack prior to our first session containing the contract which you will have time to read through sign and return to me. After this will allow for any questions you may have about what we have discussed. Once that is clear the rest of the session will be yours to share where you’re at and what is concerning you. At the end of the first session, we will check in to see how you feel and there will be time to make our next appointment if you wish to continue with your sessions.

If for any reason, I have to cancel the session I will aim to provide 48 hours’ notice and you will not be charged for the session. Likewise, I will expect 48 hours’ notice if you are unable to attend a session. After this time the session will be charged in full. If you are late attending the session, I will remain available for 15 minutes to allow for any eventualities. If you do not contact me within this time the session will be considered missed and will be cancelled. You will be charged in full for this session. If you are late attending your session, we will still end at the agreed time. I will be unable to carry out a session if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you will still be charged for this session.

Working through our thoughts and feelings can be difficult and somewhat challenging at times. Sometimes we may feel worse before we feel better. This is a perfectly natural experience to have during counselling. We may notice things are taking time to change but it has been proven that counselling can help us to feel more in control of our lives.

Confidentiality plays a big part in the counselling relationship allowing to build trust between counsellor and client. There are circumstances when confidentiality may need to be broken. If there are reasons for me to believe that you are at risk, there are any safeguarding concerns or legal requirements. Confidentiality and the boundaries around this will be discussed in more details in the initial contracting explaining the implications for counsellor and client.

I understand it can be difficult to see someone we care about in distress or struggling with their feelings, and you may think they would benefit from talking to someone. If you think we could be a good fit, please feel free to pass on my details so we can have a chat.

If you need immediate help or need to talk right now…

In an emergency:

• Call 999

• Go to your Local A & E

If you’re in a crisis and need to speak to someone

• Call NHS 111

• Contact your GP

Samaritans - 0330 094 5717

AA - 0800 9177 650