The first session is a chance for us to begin to get to know each other and for you to share with me what has brought you to therapy. I will ask you some questions so I can start to get a sense of what your life is like, how this issue is affecting you and what you would like to change. There will also be time for you to ask me any questions you may have about me and my approach to therapy. This initial session should give you the opportunity to get a sense of whether I am someone you feel comfortable working with. It will also allow me to assess whether I am the right person to support you or not.
Yes, from the first session we will begin to identify what you would like to achieve by engaging in therapy and we will revisit this on a regular basis to see if it is meeting your needs. I often find that the goals can change and evolve over time as other areas you may want to address come to light. Sometimes this happens as a direct result of issues that come up in therapy and other times it is because of life events that make some topics more, or less, relevant to work on.
There are no fixed expectations of what is talked about in my therapy sessions; I want you to feel you can talk about what is important to you without me setting an agenda. However, my theoretical grounding has taught me that it is often the case that problems we are facing in the present, , are rooted in our past experiences and our childhoods, which have shaped who we are today. For this reason, depending on what the therapy is focused on, I may invite you to explore aspects of your past that may be relevant to enhancing your understanding of the challenges you are facing today. Doing so may also help you identify what might be holding you back from making the changes you want in your life. We will do this at a pace that is comfortable for you, and I would never insist on us focusing on something that you do not want to talk about.
This can vary significantly between clients. Some choose to have a small number of sessions (typically 6-8), focusing on a specific area or concern. For others, either because the difficulties they face are more complex or because they want to develop a deeper understanding of themselves, a longer-term therapeutic relationship is helpful.
In all cases I will make sure to check in regularly to see if the therapy is still meeting your needs.
My aim is to help you find your own answers to the challenges you face. I will do this by providing a supportive, non-judgemental space for difficult experiences and feelings to be processed and for you to build the self-awareness and self-compassion that I believe are necessary to make informed choices about your life.
In most cases sessions are weekly on the same day and time each week.
It may be possible, or even helpful, to agree a different pattern if there are specific reasons for doing so but this would be the exception rather than the rule.
Everything that we discuss is confidential except if I think that you have become a danger to yourself or others. In this case I will always endeavour to talk to you about why I feel I may need to break confidentiality before taking any action.
For legal and ethical reasons, I am also not bound by confidentiality if in good faith I feel that I can assist in the prevention or detection of a serious crime, this includes safeguarding issues regarding children or vulnerable adults, crimes regarding substantial financial gains and losses, and acts of terrorism.
Most of my sessions take place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.