After submitting your enquiry, the next step is usually to have a brief telephone call.  I will first contact you and offer you some days/times when I can be available to call you.  Once we have agreed a time, I will call and run through a few brief questions.  It is during the phone call that you have the opportunity to ask any questions that you might have.  

After that, if you are ready to take the next step we then look at organising an “initial meeting”.

A therapeutic relationship is just like any other when you meet someone for the first time. You may or may not get along. For this reason I offer a 30 minute initial meeting where we can both see how comfortable we are working together. After that meeting you are under no obligation to choose me as your counsellor.

I also understand how difficult it can be finding a counsellor and ultimately I just want to help you get you to where you want to be. For this reason if you don’t feel we can work together I’ll be happy to suggest some alternative counsellors.

Once you are happy that you’ve made the right choice, simply contact me again and we can find a suitable time to have a weekly session.

You might make your decision in the initial meeting, in which case we would then discuss details at the time.

Rather than write an exhaustive list of issues that I can help with, and potentially leave something out, I prefer that you contact me to discuss your particular needs. If I don’t feel I’m able to help you, I’ll be happy to point you in the right direction.

It is hard to say how many sessions you will need without hearing the reasons for wanting counselling. In some cases the short term therapy is all that is required which can be carried out in 6 sessions. In other cases long term counselling may be needed, which could be up to 24 sessions.

During long term counselling I will carry out regular reviews to establish whether you are happy with the work and if we have achieved or are still working towards your agreed goals. In some cases we may uncover new goals.