COUNSELLING OR PSYCHOTHERAPY?

Psychotherapeutic counselling and psychotherapy are both types of talking therapies. In the UK, people often use “counselling” and “therapy” interchangeably to refer to a process in which they see a professional to talk about their problems or mental health issues. I am trained as both a psychotherapist and a psychotherapeutic counsellor. If we start working together, I will work with you using whatever parts of my training feel most appropriate for your needs. As a result, I don’t have separate “counselling” or “therapy” clients and am happy for you to use either term.

Fees and pricing

I operate on a sliding scale. The fee is self-set, meaning you choose how much you pay, starting at £60 per session for individual therapy. You are primarily paying for my work, not the format the sessions take place in, so I charge the same for remote and in-person sessions. I have a limited number of low-cost slots.

What Happens once I contact you?

I offer all prospective clients a free 20-minute phone consultation and a paid 50-minute assessment session.

  • The phone consultation is optional. It’s there for those who’d like to get a brief sense of me, ask a specific question about my working style or my client base, check if there is a suitable time slot for us to work together or anything else you’d like to know before committing to a first session.

  • The initial exploratory session serves as a “test run” to see how we work together and for me to ask more detailed questions about you and what you’re coming for. After this session, we’ll agree if we want to work together and for how long, and sign a contract.

  • The session duration is 50 minutes and I see individual therapy clients once a week. I do not offer fortnightly sessions to new individual therapy clients.

  • Once we decide on a session time, that will be your time slot as long as we work together unless we agree to change it.

The process

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People often assume that therapy or counselling is something they might need only if they’re “unwell enough”. While there are certain situations where a GP or another professional strongly encourages you to talk to someone, I believe almost everyone can benefit from counselling. I would encourage you to consider the following questions:

  • Can I benefit from talking about this issue with a professional?

  • Is the potential benefit worth my time, effort and money?

  • Are there some areas of my life that could be supported by having counselling?

Think of it a little like hiring a personal trainer or a nutritionist. For some people, it might be more of a luxury, while for some, it’s a necessity - but there isn’t a specific threshold at which you’re “allowed” to get support with your physical or mental health.

Talk about things you can’t talk about elsewhere

Some things that impact us the most are also things we talk about the least. Surviving abuse, hating your body, being afraid you’re a dull lover, questioning your sexual orientation or being incontinent can make us feel ashamed and vulnerable. We are worried they will reject or abandon us if we share these things with our loved ones. I offer you a judgement-free place to talk with a professional in confidence.

Work towards your specific needs

Some excellent mental health resources are available for free on blogs, social media, self-help books, and the news. For example, many find mindfulness a very efficient tool to manage anxiety. And yet some people who try it end up feeling worse than before, including experiencing panic attacks while meditating. The difference between working on managing your distress on your own and with me is that:
a) I have a much broader range of tools available that we can adjust to your needs and preferences and
b) we can work on the process that creates your anxiety rather than just managing its symptoms.

Work towards A functional understanding

The increase in public conversations around abuse, trauma and boundaries is a fantastic development that I believe will contribute to a healthier society. While some excellent resources are available, there is also a lot of sensationalism, generalisation, and misinformation. It can leave people confused and struggling to make sense of their experience through rigid frameworks originating from psychopathology. It seems statistically unlikely that everyone who has ever been called a narcissist actually has a narcissistic personality disorder. The benefit of working with a professional is a better understanding how your relationships with others and yourself impact your life, with or without a psychopathological framework.

How do you see clients?

  • In-Person Sessions

    We will meet in my office. I do not offer sessions in client spaces.

  • Remote sessions

    If you can’t meet me in my office due to distance, health issues or other reasons, we can meet virtually or on the phone.

How many sessions should I have?

We will discuss what you’re looking for, what issues you want to focus on, and your preferences for the duration of our work together. I might suggest a reasonable time frame for you, but the decision to start or end therapy is mostly yours. In some situations, I might be unwilling to agree to a specific contract duration. If that happens, I will explain my reasoning to you.