What You can expect

Sometimes clients want to talk and explore painful experiences and issues, like the loss of a beloved relative or partner or child, or an abusive family relationship, or their utter communication breakdown with their spouse, or their troubled self-esteem and their doubts of their self-worth. At the same time many feel they would desperately like to change things around but they do not know how, they do not seem to find the “right” words or they find trusting others difficult.
Rest assured you are not alone out there and many individuals and families are faced with these or similar challenges which I helped them overcome.

1st Session Practical Details

Beginning therapy starts with a semi-structured assessment session that lasts 50 minutes (60m for families). The 1st session is an opportunity for us to meet whilst I collect information on your individual, couple and family background. It also gives me the chance to hear from each of you your definition of what the challenge or difficulty is, its history and intensity, followed by your description of what changes you hope to achieve through the therapy/counselling work together.
At the end of the session we will decide whether it feels ok to work together to meet your needs for change, and if so we will agree a number of sessions (normally 6, 12 or 18). When the number of agreed sessions is reached we will have a review session to assess the current progress and discuss a way forward. Following the initial assessment, we will start to meet on a regular basis. Individual sessions are 50 minutes long, Couple sessions 60 minutes long and Family sessions between 60 to 75 minutes long.

Sessions are provided in a quiet, confidential space where we will talk about what is on your mind and the issues you choose to discuss at a pace you feel comfortable with. You will not be pressured to talk about anything which you do not choose to or you do not feel ready to explore. My task as therapist is to help you achieve an understanding of your feelings, of your patterns of behaviour and of their meanings and to find together ways to change the aspects of your life you are not happy with, and to find the “right” language to communicate with your beloved ones. This is often achieved by enabling you to draw from your pool of strengths and skills, and by empowering you to change the way you relate with your inner self and with the important people in your life.

The way we talk

In our counselling session our therapeutic conversation will explore many facets of a challenge or problem you face, and the dimensions of your relationship with it.
This is done in a non-judgemental or non-blaming way. I will work with you to help you understand how you arrived at that point in your life and what you want to be or do different.