Counselling begins with an initial 50 minute assessment meeting, during which I will ask questions about your experiences and history, as well as your reasons and intentions for contacting my practice. This is so I can begin to get a sense for your concerns in the context of your life and world, and so you can speak freely in your own words about what is troubling you. I will encourage you to ask me any questions you may have about counselling and my practice, so that we can then decide whether it is appropriate for us to work together.
If we agree to work together, I will contract with you to build a safe and confidential therapeutic relationship, the aim of which is to support and empower you to make the choices that are right for you. There is no right or wrong thing to focus on and whatever you bring will be of importance.
If you express an interest in outdoor therapy, I will discuss this in detail with you to see if this is an option you could benefit from. For more info about this, see here: What is outdoor therapy?
Subsequent counselling sessions are normally 50 minutes on a weekly basis, unless agreed otherwise. I can offer to work on a short-term basis, normally 8-12 sessions followed by a review, or on an open-ended, long-term basis.