The Therapy Process

Learn what to expect: from your initial consultation, through collaborative goal-setting, to supportive, structured sessions that combine CBT tools and guided hypnosis.

  1. Make contact with me, either by email or by telephone. I will respond as soon as I am able, so please do leave me a message if I am unable to answer the telephone.
  2. I will contact you to arrange a free, no-obligation initial consultation, usually lasting around 45 minutes. This gives you an opportunity to decide whether you feel comfortable working with me and whether my approach feels right for you. It also allows me to hear about the issue you would like help with, carry out a brief suitability screening using recognised professional criteria, and establish whether I have the appropriate expertise to help. If I am not the right person to help, I will try to help you identify more suitable support. What you discuss with me is treated as confidential, within the usual professional and legal limits of confidentiality.
  3. If we are both happy, we can make arrangements to begin our sessions.
  4. Whilst you may have as many sessions as you would like with me, we will formally review your progress at the sixth session. This helps us to maintain focus and ensures that therapy continues with a clear sense of progress and direction. Of course, you are free to end therapy at any time.

Points to Note

I work predominantly online. Working online reduces travel, cost and inconvenience. It also means that when we finish a session, you are already in a comfortable, safe and familiar environment. I ask that you:

  1. Please use a desktop computer or laptop with a webcam. Whilst it is technically possible to attend a session using a mobile phone or tablet, the smaller screen and less stable positioning can make communication and sharing material more difficult. It is also important that I can see you clearly throughout the session and that you are somewhere private, comfortable and safe.
  2. Please ensure that you are at home, or somewhere similarly private and safe, at the time of our session. You should not take part while driving, travelling, in a public place, or in any situation where your attention may be needed for your own safety or that of others.
  3. I usually take payment in advance of a session. This is largely because, at the end of a session, you may be very relaxed and I would like that feeling to remain for as long as possible rather than interrupting it with talk of bank transfers or payment. I will provide details for payment by bank transfer or PayPal when we arrange your first therapy appointment. If you are unfamiliar with either method, don't worry—I can talk you through the options.
  4. Please do try to be punctual. I may have another client shortly after your session and cannot shorten their appointment or keep them waiting because an earlier session started late. If you are unavoidably late, you may therefore lose some of your session time, although I will always take genuinely unavoidable circumstances into account.