Getting Started

Where and when?

My practice is on Filton Grove in Horfield, Bristol (BS7). There is on-street parking and it is very close to bus stops on Gloucester Road, Muller Road and Filton Avenue. I also offer online sessions over Zoom.

Sessions always take place at the same time and same place each week, for 50 minutes. I currently have availability on Thursdays - please contact me to check availability and to book an initial consultation session.

As well as practicing counselling indoors or online, I also have experience in a different approach where your sessions could take place outdoors (known as ‘wild therapy’). If this is something that interests you or you would like any more information about this, please let me know.

The room is on the first floor which requires use of stairs so unfortunately is not wheelchair accessible.

The first session

The first session is what’s known as a consultation where the purpose is to get a feel for whether we might work well together. For me that involves assessing whether I can offer you effective support and if my approach is going to be useful to you. For you, you’ll be looking for a gut feeling about whether you feel comfortable enough with me to bring up whatever you need or want to.

I am currently also offering a free 20-minute introductory chat online or over the phone if you prefer.

The first consultation session is at a reduced rate because I believe it’s important for you to have the chance to try a few different therapists and see who feels like the best fit, before you commit to working with any of us. And because although you will get a taste of how I work, rather than diving straight into the work, there will be a few practicalities we’ll need to discuss first:

Understanding your goal and what you need from counselling:

We’ll discuss what’s brought you here, but you don’t have to have a really firm idea of what the issue you’re facing is or where you ideally want to be yet, and it’s not about baring your soul or providing a lot of detail at this stage. It’s about us being on the same page with what our starting point is, and what sort of direction we should take the work in - and this is something we can review and change over time as the work goes on.

Having a contract:

I’ll take you through a written contract that describes the basic agreement we’d have about working together - things like how I keep your information confidential, how we arrange time off or cancellations, and how you would pay. This gives us clear expectations, and can avoid ‘what if’ worries, so please do ask questions about any scenarios or details you can think of.

Getting to know each other:

You may have questions for me, and I will have a few for you so I can get a sense of whether my approach will work for you. This is the only session where I might take some notes while we’re talking, but only if you are happy for me to.

How many sessions will I need?

Our work may be short-term (anywhere from 6 - 12 sessions), or have no set end date and finish whenever you feel is right for you, and that all depends on what you’d prefer and what the issue is that you’re tackling. I’ve seen some people make phenomenal shifts in a month and I’ve been beside others every week on their journey for many years.

Some events or incidents can only require a few sessions for you to notice a change in how you’re thinking and feeling, whilst other things - such as old habits or ways of thinking and feeling that seem more tied to who you are as a person - might have taken years to build, and therefore take longer to work on to understand and change.

And it’s not always clear to begin with, so the first month is usually enough time to get a sense of whether you feel therapy with me is right for you, and whether you would prefer a short term focus or to work together on an open-ended basis. In the third session we discuss how it’s been so far - what you feel is useful and what might not be working or missing, and whether you want to continue - either on an open-ended basis or for between 6 - 12 sessions.

Cost and payment

20-minute Zoom introductory chat: FREE

Initial 50-minute consultation session: £30

Regular ongoing sessions £55 each

Payments are by bank transfer / direct debit either weekly or monthly.

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