WORKING TOGETHER
It is important to choose a therapist you can work with and trust. The better the relationship between you and your therapist, the more likely you are to benefit from psychotherapy.
If you choose to work with me, I will help you understand your problems and what lies behind them. Depending on what you want to achieve from the sessions, you might choose to focus on finding better ways to cope with your problems or identify changes that you would like to make in your life to improve your emotional wellbeing.
INITIAL PHONE CONVERSATION
During an initial telephone conversation you will be able to ask me questions about the various therapeutic approaches that I offer, my qualifications and the way that I work. There is no fee for this conversation.
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An initial telephone conversation can be arranged by email or by phoning me at your convenience. If I am not able to answer your call immediately, please leave a message on my voicemail and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
As a therapist in private practice, I am not able to respond to emergency calls so you will need to find an appropriate practitioner, such as your GP, to help you address any emergency issues that you may have.
ASSESSMENT
If after our initial telephone conversation, you would like to book an assessment appointment, we can arrange a mutually convenient date and time. I currently work privately on Tuesdays between 9.00 AM and 6.00 PM. My practice is based in central Hook in Hampshire, less than 5 minutes walk from Hook train station.
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An assessment session lasts for around 90 minutes. In this session we will explore your current difficulties, identify the main problems, discuss what type of therapy would be most suitable for you and identify the goals you would like to achieve. Depending on your main difficulties and their intensity and duration and the goals you would like to achieve in therapy, I may decide to work within one therapeutic model or draw upon a variety of the theories and techniques listed under my therapeutic approaches.
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If we find that I am not able to help you with your difficulties, then I will do my best to refer you to a suitable professional organisation.
ASSESSMENT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
OR CHILDREN
When I am working with young people, I generally invite the parents and the child/children to the initial meeting. In some cases however, it may be more appropriate to hold the initial assessment session without the child/children. This allows parents to talk freely about the problem and ask questions before they introduce me to their child/children. In some instances, it may be appropriate for me to meet initially with an older child or adolescent before meeting with the parents.
I’m flexible about who attends the first session and can adapt to best suit your needs.
ATTENDING THERAPY
Following the assessment session, if you decide that you would like to work with me, we will create and agree a contract.
Therapy sessions are 50 minutes or 90 minutes depending on the plan that we have agreed.
Frequency of sessions vary according to need and are generally either weekly or fortnightly
If you are using health insurance, please check cover with your insurance company before booking your appointment. Most major insurance companies are accepted. Â
Payment is taken either prior to the appointment or at the end of each appointment by bank transfer or cash.
A full charge will be made for appointments cancelled with less than 24-hours notice as I will be unable to use this time for another client.
I can consider hardship and concessions with evidence of need.
Together we will regularly review whether you are finding the sessions helpful. In the rare event that they are not deemed to be useful, we can agree to terminate the agreed course of treatment early. In this instance, no further fees are payable.
I am registered with the UKCP (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy) and I am a member of AFT (Association of Family Therapy).