Working with me in individual sessions
I offer online therapy sessions
I offer one-to-one online psychotherapy sessions using video calls. It is important that you have a comfortable private space to meet with me where you wont be disturbed.
I encourage you to book a free 20 minute conversation with me so that we can see whether we could work together.
I want you to get the right support. If I don’t feel that working with me is the right approach for you then I will say so. In that case I will support you to find an approach that suits you better.
How the first therapy session works
The first session is a consultation session where I will explore with you what you are wanting support or help with and to discuss if and how we will go forward from here. We will discuss whether therapy with me is likely to be a useful approach for you. This session will last between 60 and 90 minutes.
I will email you before we meet for the consultation with some information on some practical things. These include how to make sure you have a private space to work in, the timings for the sessions, my cancellation policy and how to contact me between sessions. This is all written into a Psychotherapy Agreement which I would like you to read and bring any questions to the consultation session. This agreement is not set in stone and it is possible that we could discuss doing it slightly differently if your circumstance require this and it will also work for me. After the consultation, if we agree to continue then we will both sign to indicate our intentions for the work.
If we agree to work together then we will then commit to six weekly one hour sessions on a regular day and time.
What to expect in your weekly online therapy sessions
If we agree to continue with the six sessions then we will meet weekly. Our therapy sessions are between 50 minutes and one hour long. We will work together throughout the session exploring how you are in relation to your concerns. How you really are. We will also think about what it is that you want to be different for you.
Sometimes there are silences and that is fine and expected. It is important to have the opportunity to reflect as we go along. There is no requirement to talk about any particular aspect of your experience unless you choose to. There may be shock and trauma emerging as we work and I will support you to be with this safely and to work at a pace that is right for you.
I will check to make sure I am accurately understanding what you are telling me. I may ask further questions so that I can understand more. My aim is always to get a closer understanding of your world. I will not judge or compare this with mine or anyone else’s. The things you are concerned about might shift and change as we go along. I will be checking that we are still doing what matters most to you.
Towards the end of the six sessions we will then review whether it might be helpful to continue.
Some clients get what they need through just those six sessions and this short-term work can be very valuable in itself. Others choose to continue to work for a number of months (medium-term) or for a year or more (long-term). It is not possible for us to know when you will choose to stop at the outset but we will review regularly to make sure we are still focusing on what matters to you.
What to do if you want to work with me:
Since I only work with a small number of clients in this way and so there may be a wait before I can offer you a place. If you would like to discuss coming for therapy with me please book a free 20 minute chat with me to hear a little more and to ask any questions you have. I will be very happy to have a conversation with you.
Alternatively, if you are already clear that you would like to go ahead, you can book an initial consultation session, if there is one available, on my bookings page. The day and time of the consultation session is likely to be the time you are offered if we decide to go ahead.
If we do the consultation session and it becomes clear that I am not the right therapist for you I will support you, as far as I can, to find one that is.