About Counselling and Psychotherapy
Both counselling and psychotherapy can help with a number of issues, including depression, anxiety, low self worth, destructive relationship patterns, gender issues, problems with sexuality, phobias, addictions and eating disorders.
If you are dealing with a recent issue which is causing you distress such as a relationship break up, bereavement or job loss, sessions would usually be once weekly at the same time each week, lasting for 50 minutes. However, many people have more deep rooted issues which may have stemmed from childhood and will benefit from a much deeper exploration, and in these cases, people may come twice or three times a week. This will allow for greater depth of understanding and insight into the issues you are currently facing, allowing you to think about how experiences and relationships from the past might be affecting your current situation. Aspects of yourself that may have previously been out of awareness can be revealed, bringing insight, a sense of relief and a much better understanding of how and why you function in the way that you do. You are then in a stronger position to make better choices for yourself.
Both counselling and psychotherapy involve a lot of emotional work which is often very painful. If you are curious about who you are and why you are the way you are, then counselling & psychotherapy can work for you. If you simply want to be "fixed" by the therapist, so you no longer feel the way you do, then counselling and psychotherapy are probably not for you.
Whether you wish to come for counselling or more intensive psychotherapy, we would initially meet for a 50 minute consultation. This will allow you the space to talk about what is troubling you, and to get a feel for the way I work and it will allow me to assess whether this modality of therapy will work for you. It is usual to have a further consultation before deciding if we can work together. If you decided you wanted to go ahead with therapy, I would suggest how many sessions per week I think would be beneficial for you. We would discuss what time/s you could attend on a regular basis each week and sessions would be at the same time each week. However, you would need to attend at least once a week; I do not see people at a lower frequency ie every two weeks. You are under no obligation to remain in therapy for a set time period. All sessions are 50 minutes in length including the initial consultations.
If I do not feel I can offer you the help that you need I will try to signpost you to an alternative service/therapist.