S.W.P

My current rate is £50 per 50 minute session.

I offer discounted sessions to members of the armed forces, NHS and emergency services.

• Online - payments are to be made in full in advance of a session via bank transfer

• In-person - payments are to be made in full in advance of a session via bank transfer, or you can pay via SumUp or cash on the day

• Online - available to anybody residing within the UK

• In-person - on the outskirts of Colchester, Essex

Accessibility:

My practice is located on the ground floor and there is a level path from the pavement to the door. The parking space designated for clients is somewhat narrow, but there is plenty of parking available outside of the property.

Appointments are typically arranged on a weekly basis at the same time and on the same day each week. Therapy is initially conducted weekly to maximise momentum in the work. However, once we have seen one another for a sufficient period of time and met some of your goals, we may decide to meet bi-weekly.

It is understood that sometimes short breaks will be necessary.

I offer some evening slots. At present, I do not work on Mondays or weekends.

I offer a free 15 minute Zoom call to give an initial assessment as to whether I may be a good fit for you, and to get a brief overview of your reasons for accessing therapy. This time also serves for you to ask me any questions.

It is understood that you may have set up a few meetings with different therapists, which is perfectly reasonable. I respectfully ask that, following this initial consultation, you simply let me know either way whether you wish to continue with me. If so, we will arrange our first paid session for a mutually agreed time/date, and I will provide you with a copy of our therapeutic agreement to consider beforehand.

The first session with a new therapist can be nerve-wracking, even if you have had therapy before. It is therefore not essential to jump in at the deep end. Instead, it is an opportunity to get to know one another and to examine whether we could work well together.

I go through your background information with you and ascertain what your goals may be. I request that you complete an initial evaluation form and we will also attend to contracting, so that we can both be sure of expectations and boundaries. We can additionally discuss any queries you might have regarding the therapeutic agreement you will have been sent.

Sometimes life happens! Of course there may be occasions when you are not able to attend.

48 hours minimum of your intention to cancel is required. Cancellations made with less than 48 hours’ notice will be charged at the full session rate.

If it is possible to rearrange your session for an alternative time or day, we can discuss this option, but this cannot be guaranteed.

Therapy is usually open-ended, but committing to long-term work can seem daunting, particularly at the outset. With this in mind, we will generally agree to work for 6-8 sessions to begin with, after which time we can review which aspects of the work are proving helpful, and how you would like to progress.

Some clients continue with the same practitioner for many years, whilst some know they only wish to commit to a number of sessions. In such cases, I contract with the client for shorter-term work to focus on more concise, realistic objectives.

Contact by email, text or telephone in between sessions will be limited to practical arrangements only.

If you find yourself in immediate crisis, you can contact the Samaritans by calling 116 123. They are a free confidential listening service run by volunteers 24/7 and are available to anyone in distress.

Alternatively, you can call NHS 111 and select the mental health option.

For the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, please call 0808 2000 247 for free at any time of day.

Dial 999 or go to your local accident and emergency department in an emergency. For example, if somebody’s life is at risk, they have seriously injured themselves, taken an overdose or you don’t feel you can keep yourself or someone else safe.

Counsellors and psychotherapists are interchangeably called therapists. Further specialist training is required to become a psychotherapist.

Generally speaking, counselling focuses on specific issues and is shorter-term, whereas psychotherapy often treats deeper and more complex patterns and is longer-term.

Research suggests that longer-term therapy is more effective than shorter-term therapy (Howard, Kopta, Krause, and Orlinsky , 1986).

This will be unique to you, but is certainly an important decision to make. Much research has supported the idea that the quality of the therapeutic relationship is the most important factor in effectual therapy (e.g. Barkham et al, 2018; Orlinksy, Ronnestad and Willutzki, 2004).

That said, it’s okay if you don’t get it right first time. Many people try different therapists before landing on one they think will be most beneficial to them.

Some considerations might be:

• How long the practitioner has trained/practiced for and at what facility. Not all therapy qualifications are equal, and a lack of adequate training in fragile work can be harmful

• What credentials the practitioner holds, including which organisations they are accredited by and which ethical codes they abide by

• What modalities the practitioner is trained in, whether this aligns with your view of the world, and whether they have experience working with particular issues relevant to you

• The practitioners’ individual style of working

• Characteristics of the practitioner, such as: gender, age, languages spoken or cultural background

• The practicalities of therapy offered, such as: location, cost and frequency

• How safe and understood would you feel with this practitioner?

A good start could be to book introductory calls with a few therapists to get a feel of what is most important to you. It may then be sensible to narrow this down to a couple of therapists to meet for a first session, should your financial situation allow this.

Sometimes you may be surprised by who you envisioned as your therapist, and who you end up with. At different times of life, you may require a different type of practitioner.

It is a common misconception that there must be something wrong with your mental health in order to get value from therapy. Equally, individuals may believe that they need to be experiencing something ‘serious’ enough to seek out support. However, anybody can benefit from having the space to be curious about themselves and the world around them. At times though, a crisis or significant event may well be the thing that brings you in.

You may come for a specific reason or just want to take the time to explore yourself generally. Frequently, therapy begins with a few issues or goals, which then emerge in to other unexpected themes. Some of my clients simply enjoy having an hour a week solely for themselves to process the week and anything that has come up for them, and consider this as vital self-care.

Therapy is only one option available to bettering people’s health. It is not unusual to have therapy in addition to other treatments or alongside corresponding healthy routines.

Therapy can at times be demanding, frustrating and sensitive, and it is recognised that you may find this process very difficult. Moreover, it is common to feel stuck or hopeless about progress and this is a normal part of the work. Indeed, sometimes you may feel worse before you feel better. We can discuss the reactions you’re having and try to figure out what is going on together.

I regularly review with clients to ensure they have an opportunity to provide feedback on how therapy is going for them. Ultimately, the sessions are your space and need to work for you. A planned ending, where possible, is an important part of the therapeutic process.

Some refer to the professional bodies therapists are accredited by, and whose ethical codes they adhere to. Examples are:

• UKCP - UK Council for Psychotherapy

• BACP or MBACP - (Member) British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy

• BABCP - British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy

• BPS - British Psychological Society

Some pertain to therapeutic modalities. Examples are:

• TA - Transactional Analysis (I offer this)

• PCA - Person-Centred Approach (I offer this)

• CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

• EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

• DBT - Dialectical Behaviour Therapy

• MBT - Metallisation Based Therapy

• ACT - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

• IFS - Internal Family Systems

Clients may:

• Gain a deeper insight into the issues they’re facing and address the root causes of difficult emotions

• Experience having their worries and life stories validated or given appropriate attention and consideration, possibly for the first time

• Feel more empowered, overcome creative blocks and feel better prepared to make more informed decisions

• Attach their own meaning to life and identify their personal values

• Break generational cycles

• Unload things they’ve never felt able to tell another person before

• Move towards a move authentic sense of self

• Process important feelings or events and heal from trauma

• Make peace with the past and create hope for the future

• Implement boundaries and healthy coping strategies

• Reveal unconscious ways of being, biases and motivations

• Distinguish between the things they can and cannot control

• Cultivate confidence and strive towards self-validation rather than external validation

• Accept the numerous and often dichotomous parts of themselves

• Evaluate the agency and choice they have in circumstances rather than only sticking to historic or automatic patterns

• Improve relationships with themselves and others

• Integrate thinking and feeling, facilitating a greater understanding of the connection between their mind and body

• Better understand clinical diagnoses and reflect upon the personal significance of these

• Rewrite narratives and work through self-imposed labels and possible limiting beliefs

• Build belonging and find positive connections

• Consciously communicate and express their emotions more effectively

• Increase their tolerance

• Learn to constructively engage with and resolve conflict

• Manage stress better, leading to an improvement in mental and physical health

Psychiatrists are medical doctors that diagnose illness, prescribe medication and manage treatment for serious mental health conditions, including referring patients on for therapeutic services. Psychiatrists understand these conditions from a physical and biological perspective, largely treating symptoms rather than root-causes (unlike psychotherapy).

Psychologists are research-based, specialising in scientific testing and evaluation, and work in a variety of settings such as: schools, hospitals, care homes, prisons, and private practice. They work to study and understand people’s behaviour to address psychological distress.

There are several overlaps in the roles, and psychotherapists use many techniques deriving from psychology and psychiatry. A psychotherapist may also be a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional who has done additional training in psychotherapy.

Life can be complex and demanding, and it isn’t unusual to experience a sense of disconnection or lack of fulfilment. It is reported that 1 in 4 people will suffer with their mental health each year.

There is a large body of evidence to show that psychotherapy works to combat this. Research has demonstrated not only that psychotherapy is effective in addressing most mental health issues, but is also at least as effective as medication in doing so (Hollan et al, 2006; Cuipers et al, 2013). Further, the effects of psychotherapy have been found to be longer-lasting than those of medication (Hollan et al, 2016) and less likely to result in relapse after the treatment ends (Nordal, 2010).

Consideration for our intentional progression through life does matter, and therapy is an investment in to your emotional wellbeing. Many clients deem it to be no different than subscribing to a gym membership.