It is understandable that talking to someone you don’t know about your difficulties may seem strange or awkward, at least in the beginning. For many people, I understand that it is their first time coming to therapy and I will do my best to help you feel at ease. I will listen intently, and ask questions, with a view to seeing how best I can assist you, going forward. You are not committed to any further sessions after the first appointment and you will get a sense as to whether I am the right match for you as your therapist.
Yes, everything you talk about is confidential. The only exceptions to confidentiality is if I think you are at risk to yourself or others, in which case I may contact other professionals involved in your care, such as your G.P or a next of kin. This will always be discussed with you first, where possible. During your initial session, I will cover all these agreements with you to ensure you have given informed consent.
The self referral form is part of your initial assessment. It has been developed to get a sense of your presenting difficulties, your needs and history and your goals for therapy. The information you provide will not be shared with anybody else without your consent.
You have the choice of booking a 30 or 50 minute session, and there is no magic number as to the number of sessions needed, as it varies from person to person. Ultimately it will depend on the nature and severity of your difficulties and what approach to therapy we both believe will be most effective. This can vary from short term (up to 3 months) to long term therapy (anything from 6- 12 months). Your progress in therapy will be monitored and regularly reviewed.
It is important that therapy sessions happen regularly (as in weekly, or every 10-14 days) and the in-between session work given to you is regularly completed, in order to yield the best results. When you have made enough progress (as deemed by us both) you will move into a maintenance phase of treatment where the frequency of your sessions will lessen (as in every 3 weeks or monthly).
As a UK trained clinical psychologist, I hold a doctoral qualification but I am not a medical doctor and I did not receive any medical training. Therefore, I am not authorized to formally diagnose clients or prescribe medications.
However, I am aware of the criteria used to diagnose various clinical problems and I may recommend that you seek a formal diagnosis from a medical doctor and possibly some medication to use in conjunction with therapy. Of course, you are not obligated to do either, and plenty of people are able to improve their psychological functioning without a formal diagnosis or taking medication.
No. A diagnosis is not required to begin therapy. My services are open to all adult clients, whether they come with a formal diagnosis or not.
At this current time, my services do not extend to children and adolescents. I provide an online service to individuals aged 18 and over.
My online services are for people who present with mild to moderate psychological problems and who do not present with severe clinical presentations or high clinical risk issues. If I believe that a client presents with severe mental health issues and/or presents with a level of risk that I feel is too high for them to be safely seen online, I will signpost to a more appropriate service that better meets their needs.
No. Not at this current time
No. Not at this current time.
No. Not at this current time.
