How It Works

Counselling/psychotherapy is a form of talk therapy where you can explore your difficulties with a non-judgemental and impartial qualified therapist.

The counselling commitment is initially to meet once a week on a set day and time which suits us both. This will give some consistency to the work.

I would recommend that you initially attend a minimum of six sessions of counselling to benefit from the process. We will review this at your sixth session and at six-week intervals thereafter.

At the initial stage of the work, I will ask you to tell me what led you to seek counselling. From there, I gather some personal information from you and you can start exploring the problem situations that are troubling you, at your own pace. This is a space where you can talk, be actively listened to, and have your experiences reflected back to you for clarity and insight. My role as a therapist is not to offer you direct advice or act like an expert on your life. Instead, I will support you in coming up with your own answers, and we will work together as a team to bring you to deeper self-awareness and understanding of your feelings, thoughts, actions and choices for change.

Our first appointment will be a bit different from the rest of your counselling experience. We will take some time to get to know each other. I will explain a bit about myself, how I might work with you, go through our working agreement and take down some of your personal details. I will explain confidentiality and its limitations. At this point, you may start to tell me your story and what brought you to therapy at this point in time. This will help us get a mutual understanding of where you are at and what are your preferences and expectations from counselling. We may even write down some initials ‘goals’ or identify areas that you wish to work on. You may ask any questions that you may have at any time.

Our future sessions will continue once a week and will be led by you and what you wish to bring into the sessions in any given week. It will be mostly ‘talk therapy’ however from time to time we may incorporate imagery, creative and art work, various exercises, completion of questionnaires/forms and homework. This will all be agreed with you and is completely optional at any session. As an integrative therapist, I draw on ideas and techniques from a variety of modes of therapy to suit your individual needs and preferences, however I am better rooted in Person-Centered Therapy and Choice Theory/Reality Therapy.

Working with a therapist gives you a safe and confidential space where you can be yourself. I aim to provide you an accepting, non-judgemental and honest environment where you are truly listened to and where you can grow.