How it works

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The initial session is a chance for us to get to know one another, to gain a sense of what it may be like working with each other, and to explore whether my approach to counselling and psychotherapy fits for you and can meet your needs. If at the end of this session it becomes clear that an alternative approach or intervention would be more appropriate, I will of course share this, we can explore this together and I will offer alternative signposting.

Along with some of your history and what may have brought you to therapy, our first session is an opportunity to explore very specific details, such as confidentiality, the limits of this and the therapeutic contract. This contract will create the framework for the therapy and contains information such as, my accrediting body, their ethical framework, details around cancellations, the length of the sessions, payment details, and your details; including emergency contact details and your GP details. 

Engaging in therapy and beginning to explore things can sometimes create a sense of wobbliness, and so it is important for me to know how you might be supported outside of therapy and this is something that we can discuss. This might be from significant people in your life, nature, animals (if you have them), hobbies that you might engage with, anything that offers a degree of calm and centering. We can of course explore how you might create this if this is an area that you wish to develop.

At the first session it is useful for me to gain a sense of what you might need from me. This may look and feel very different for each person and is certainly something to consider and us explore together. However, before you come to your first session it can be useful to spend some time thinking about; 

• What has contributed to you deciding to start therapy?

• What do you hope to get from or need from therapy?

• What might you need from a therapist? 

Some people have a very clear sense as to how they feel during and at the end of the first session, and some need a little longer. Finding the right therapist is vital and something that requires reflection with regards to how you think / feel in this initial session. I therefore welcome some time being given between this first session and booking further sessions for you to consider what you would like to do next. 

If you would like to go ahead and book further sessions, I usually suggest booking in 6, then having a mini review to see how the sessions feel for you, whether you feel you are getting what you need, or would like some areas to be different. If you would like to continue, I then offer open ended sessions which you are in charge of with regards to how long we continue for.  

When to end therapy is very different for each person, some people only require a few sessions, some a few months and for some people a number of years. I see a part of my role as a therapist as checking in with you about whether you are getting what you need from the sessions, what might have changed for you during the time that we will have been working together and what you might need next. These explorations will be an ongoing point of reflection for us both, but I will be led by you and your needs. Ending therapy, just like beginning, needs time, planning consideration, all of which we can discuss together.