What Now?
Book an appointment
Please contact me to book an appointment for an initial consultation. You can make your request by telephone, text, email or by completing the contact form. Feel free to use whatever method works best for you.
I’ll then be in touch to arrange a mutually convenient date and time for us to meet.
Attend your appointment for an initial consultation
After booking your appointment I’ll send you an information pack. This will contain confirmation of your appointment, a leaflet describing my service in more detail, and directions to the counselling venue. This consultation will last 90 minutes.
I look forward to welcoming you to my private, quiet and comfortable consulting room.
Benefit from the ability to relax and open up in a safe judgement free confidential space
I take your confidentiality as my client very seriously. Consequently I will discuss the topic of confidentiality with you right from the start and also make this an ongoing priority throughout our time together. I also believe in the importance of creating a therapeutic environment in which you are able to completely relax and open up. I feel I can best achieve this by using my empathy to really understand you and yet also show you that I don’t judge you for the things you bring to therapy. For to paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt; we are all doing the best we can, where we are, with what we’ve got! I regard the ability to demonstrate both these qualities (at one and the same time) to be a key attribute of a great therapist.
Be helped to assess your real needs
During the initial assessment we will undertake an in-depth review of your current difficulties. We will also look at the context in which you are living your life. This enables us both to gain a much better understanding of the issues you are facing. That will allow us to consider the type of help you now need.
Receive support in deciding the best form of help for you
It is my sincere wish that you receive the most appropriate help for your needs. With this in mind the last part of the appointment involves considering what that ‘best next step’ might be for you. This may take the form of attending on going counselling sessions within my service. Or it may involve discussing alternative sources of help. In which case it is possible to arrange a follow up appointment where you will be supported to review and come to a decision as to which of these alternatives would best suit you.
Gain help with identifying effective solutions to the issues you are now facing
On-going counselling sessions, which usually occur on a regular weekly basis, are where we get together and work as a team. We will explore and really get to grips with your difficulties, helping you determine the most effective route out of your pain. The leaflet sent to you will explain the nature of these sessions in more detail.
Receive compassionate and professional support both implementing and achieving the solutions to your problems
Compassion is concerned with empathising with the suffering of others. But it is more than that. It is also about being motivated to help to relieve that suffering. I very much welcome the opportunity to show compassion and support for you in your distress. But more importantly I want to help you put into effect the solutions we have identified on our shared journey. So I will be using my skills, professional training and experience to do my very best to help you with that task. My greatest hope is for you to experience real and permanent relief from all your distress and suffering.
And remember…
I’m here to help. So please do contact me and together we can start your journey to emotional and psychological health and well-being.
I hope to hear from you soon.