Cath Yankson: 07960 200 382
PG Dip Couns (Integ.) Reg MBACP (Accred.)
Amber Djemal: 07947 280 408
PG Dip Couns (Integ.) Reg MBACP (Accred.)
Practicalities Ф
Counselling/therapy sessions are weekly, at the same time and on the same day each week. (Your appointment time is reserved for you).
The session lasts for 50 minutes. A fee will be negotiated at the beginning of the counselling/therapy work and will be payable weekly/monthly by invoice either by bank transfer or cash. The number of sessions you have depends on how many you think you need. This can be agreed with your counsellor/therapist and reviewed at a later date.
If you miss your session you will usually have to wait until the following week to see your counsellor/therapist for the next session. Please make every effort to let your counsellor/therapist know you are unable to attend.
If you know you are going to miss a session (including holidays) you should let your counsellor/therapist know in advance. All missed sessions incur the usual session fee. Similarly, your counsellor/therapist will discuss with you in advance any need to cancel a session and advise you of her holiday dates in advance. Sessions cancelled by the counsellor/therapist will not be paid for.
Counselling/therapy is based on trust. You should be able to trust that your counsellor/therapist will be there to work with you to the best of her ability; and your counsellor/therapist should be able to trust that you will also make every effort to arrive at the arranged time and engage with the counselling/therapy as best you can.
Commitment ψ
Counselling/therapy is voluntary: you should be coming because you have chosen to and you believe it will be useful.
Once your counselling/therapy has started, your counsellor/therapist makes a commitment to work with you in a way that is consistent, respectful and dependable. You should also think about the commitment you are prepared to make to the counselling/therapy process, which often takes time and may be difficult emotionally. It’s worthwhile considering that things sometimes feel worse before they feel better.
Confidentiality ф
Counselling/therapy is confidential. This means that the counsellor/therapist will not discuss what you have talked about outside of the practice. It might be useful to discuss with your counsellor/therapist how you will manage the prospect of coming across each other in public—outside of the counselling/therapy room. It may make you feel uncomfortable to see your counsellor/therapist outside of sessions whilst you are with friends, family, partner etc and whilst your counsellor/therapist may be conducting themselves differently to how they are with you. Your counsellor/therapist will always prioritise your confidentiality and will only greet you in public if you indicate that this is OK.
Exceptions to Confidentiality ¥
If the counsellor/therapist feels that you are in danger of significantly harming yourself, someone else, or are at risk of being harmed by someone, she may need to involve other people in maintaining yours or others’ safety. However, the counsellor/therapist will always tell you about this and try to gain your consent first.
Counsellors/therapists usually receive external supervision where they talk to an experienced counsellor/therapist about their clients to ensure they are working with you in the best way possible. Steps are taken to conceal client identities during this process.
The Process ж
Your counsellor/therapist will work with you on whatever issue is troubling you and try to identify better ways of managing the problem(s) you are experiencing. The counsellor/therapist will not advise you or tell you what to do but listen carefully to you and provide a safe space to think things through with you. Patterns in your behaviour and negative thinking may be identified and reflected upon. You may also be given information and suggestions around alternative behaviours /actions.
Your counsellor/therapist will take all reasonable care to ensure that your session is safe and uninterrupted: telephones will be silenced, no calls will be taken or visitors seen and no other tasks will be attended to by the counsellor/therapist during your session. You are encouraged to show the same commitment. Eating and drinking in sessions is not generally encouraged.
If you decide counselling/therapy is not right or no longer working for you or you decide that it is time to end, it is advisable to talk to your counsellor/therapist about this, rather than just not turn up for sessions. This is to ensure that both counsellor/therapist and client can agree on and experience a more satisfying end to the work. You are required to give 4 weeks’ notice if you wish to end longer term counselling/therapy. It may take longer to have a satisfactory ending if you have been in counselling/therapy long term.
Remote work ₼
In addition, when working remotely (phone, video call), the session will need to be confidential i.e. nobody else with you. It is important that you find a quiet uninterrupted space from which to join the session. It is not appropriate to join from a public area and we like to know where you are for safeguarding reasons.