What’s it all about?
Whether you’ve had therapy before or feeling a bit lost at sea, I strive to make the process as comforting, understandable and rewarding as possible.
You, Me and Everyone else, are all unique concoctions of life experiences, with every situation we experience affecting us differently. In reality, this means there is no one-size-fits-all process to therapy.
Therefore, drawing from various styles of evidence-based psychological techniques, the way I work can be adapted to almost any issue you may have.
I know it can be daunting seeing a therapist, so here are a few pointers which will hopefully shine some light on things.
Why a FREE Initial Consultation?
Half the battle in successful therapy is clicking with the right person, and evidence shows that the therapeutic relationship between client and therapist accounts for the main factor in positive outcomes. People sometimes don’t click together, fact!
That’s why I believe… No, I know, how important it is for you to feel comfortable working with me. Ok, starting therapy is never going to feel super comfortable, so a free initial session allows you to get more of an idea, much more than just reading a website. Importantly, it also allows us initial insight into your issue and how we can work together to achieve a satisfactory resolution.
After all, you are making an investment in yourself, and like any investment you wouldn’t just jump in without looking thoroughly first. Who wants to pay for something that might not feel right? No Thanks, not me!
I believe it makes sense to be more informed in how you invest that time and money and who you are going to invest it with.
Striving for an efficient service, ensuring you feel comfortable, and backed by the evidence behind the therapeutic relationship is why I offer the initial consultation for FREE. It also benefits us both, as when you excitedly tell people about the positive change you have made, it keeps me in business!
“Who wants to pay for something that doesn’t feel right? No Thanks, not me!”
Although I am in the business of therapy, the onus also lies on myself. I am not going to sell you something which won’t benefit you, I have seen it happen and it really irritates me. My passion and joy comes from helping and seeing people make real measurable change in their lives. So, if I don’t think I can help, or another option may be more beneficial, I will do whatever I can to put you in touch with someone more suited to your needs.
What Happens in the Initial Consultation?
Once you’ve got in touch, we can arrange an informal, down-to-earth chat and discuss what you have been dealing with. Lasting up to 30 mins, you can bend my ear about what you are experiencing and after a few questions we can discuss how I could help.
The session, as with all sessions, is a fully confidential space for us to talk at your own pace. I understand talking to anyone about personal issues can be tough but as a professional therapist it’s my job to make it easier.
I may have knowledge and experience of therapeutic practice but I am still just a down-to-earth guy who is here for you, non-judgemental, genuine and accepting of anything you are experiencing.
People new to therapy are frequently astounded, by the positive impact of being able to safely open up to a flowing exploration of their self, issues, causes and solutions.
Initial consultations are usually done over secure video link or telephone, meaning you don’t have to travel and can fit into your schedule easier. Initial meetings in-person may be possible subject to room availability.
What happens after the Initial Consultation?
After a free initial consultation you are under no obligation to take things further. If your gut feeling is you don’t think we will work well together, then that is great! It’s not easy talking about personal issues to anyone, and I believe finding the right person is vitally important.
“The initial consultation is far from being Married at First Sight”
This means the initial consultation is far from being ‘Married at First Sight’. The aim is simply to gain more insight and enable an informed decision about comfortably going forward.
From the end of the session we will have a better idea of how we can move forward together. If you feel like proceeding anytime after the session, just let me know and I will follow up with a welcome pack. Including some questionnaires, privacy policies and a working contract. We can then arrange our first session.
In many therapy situations your first session may be spent filling in questionnaires and forms, all necessary parts of the process but I believe some can be done at home and explored in session. This offers me deeper understanding before we start and ultimately saves you time and money as we focus on our work together.
How many Sessions will I need?
A very common question and one I asked myself in the past. Unfortunately there is no common answer. The uniqueness of issues and experiences makes a one-size-fits all answer difficult. Basically, we all take our own road but after our initial session we will have a better understanding of what road will get to your destination.
The way I work, is knowing there can be very little relief from endlessly going over and over problems past and present. Thats why I believe a more strategic, efficient approach can bring measurable change.
Working together in a goal-orientated manner, we following the road most important to you. Yes, we look at the past, what has shaped your beliefs, thinking or behaviour. However, by gaining understanding, we then work with a plan formulated to your current issue and goals.
Some clients benefit through gaining new perspectives in just a few sessions, while some issues may be quite entrenched and require longer term work. Other clients also create new goals after successful achievement. Overall, I am committed to working with you in an ethical and rewarding way, basically I would never pro-long therapy as that doesn’t help anyone and in my view, is quite simply wrong.
It is also down to your judgement, if it feels like therapy could come to an end at any point. Great, as it’s your choice to do so and we can discuss and arrange the best way of doing this. To reassure you, my job is to tailor our work together in the most efficient and effective way possible.
What happens in sessions?
Sessions will vary from person to person but a general process may be understood as follows:
In our early sessions we will look at what you want to gain from therapy and how you would like to see yourself looking forward. We don’t have to spend too long talking about your issue, you can do that with your family or friends. It is my job to help you resolve the issue.
We do spend time identifying reasons which may have resulted in you feeling, thinking or behaving the way you are. As we uncover these we add to a logical plan of how best to work and make productive use of session time.
Our work will be collaborative, we are in this together, meaning work is needed from both sides to get the best outcome. What we work on will be based on your goals and done at a pace comfortable to you.
In general, sessions start by collaborating on a brief agenda. Allowing us to fully understand what is most beneficial for that day, with our work remaining based on your goals throughout. Keeping this solid direction allows efficient use of our time related directly to what is important to you.
Sessions will also end with feedback, reviewing sessions in this way means we can understand what is or isn’t working for you, then adapt accordingly.
Some of the work we do will include homework. Don’t worry it’s not back to school time, working this way allows you to incorporate what we learn during sessions into your daily life. This ultimately increases the learning from sessions and when practically applied, results in a more efficient path to achieving your goals.
Further Practical Information
I offer daytime and evening slots and recommend weekly sessions at a regular time. This helps keep progress continuous and focused.
Once a session time has been agreed, I will keep a weekly slot open for you. This means if you cannot attend I will be unable to offer it to another client. If unable to attend for a number of sessions, we will need to discuss how this impacts us both and arrange an alternative.
It is important that if you cannot attend a session you let me know. Any cancellations under 48hrs notice will be charged at full rate, unless otherwise agreed.
More practical information is available in my Policies section.
Again, please feel free to get in touch with me regarding anything you may be unsure of, or to take advantage of the FREE Initial consultation.
I believe questions are the means to progress. Therefore, there is no such thing as a stupid question, and I am more than happy to find an answer.
