I am trained and experienced in a number of evidence-based psychological therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) (for a wide range of problems, including Trauma-Focused CBT), Brainspotting (a therapy, which evolved from EMDR), third wave therapies (ACT, CFT, schema therapy and narrative approaches), parts work (IFS and Brainspotting), Emotion Regulation and Person-Centred Experiential and Brief Solution Focused interventions.
I offer an individualised, formulation-driven therapy sessions, based on the outcome of a collaborative psychological assessment.
We work together to help you understand your difficulties as well as strengths in order to design the treatment that works best for you and empowers you to make positive changes in your life. The service I offer is confidential, respectful and responsive to the needs and preferences of my clients.
I provide psychological assessments and therapy for individual clients (private) as well as for various employers (including the police and wellbeing services within different organisations), educational establishments (universities, colleges, schools) and for medico-legal purposes.
Therapy sessions are 50 minutes and usually take place weekly.
If you are struggling and have reached out for help, then you may be wondering what you can expect from therapy process.
Starting the process can be daunting and feeling nervous or apprehensive about your first therapy session is completely normal, so please rest assured it is normal to feel this way.
Here, you will find an outline of what to expect from the fist assessment/ consultation session and the therapy process.
Your first therapy session might be referred to as an assessment or consultation session. It is designed to help you and your therapist get to know each other a bit better, understand your presenting difficulties and begin to build an effective therapeutic relationship, which is key to successful treatment. Within this session you will have a chance to ask any questions you may have about psychological therapy.
Assessment/consultation sessions are 50-60 minutes long and charged at the normal rate (unless a report is required).
Together we can think about the type of therapeutic approach that is best suited to you and tailor treatment to meet your needs.
It is essential that you feel comfortable with your chosen therapist and that you are happy with the type of therapy provided. If I am unable to offer you the most appropriate service for your needs, I can recommend other options.
The length of the treatment is dependent on the type of issues you bring, and it can be brief and focused on one specific thing or longer term if the issues are more complex or long-standing (for instance, the treatment for complex PTSD/ trauma is usually longer term than the treatment of single event trauma experienced in adulthood with no other complexities).
Following initial introductions, we may need to run through some of the practicalities of therapy and some simple ‘housekeeping’ points. These might include:
• Details around how long your sessions will be – individual therapy sessions usually last for around 50-60 minutes but other formats may also be possible.
• How often you will be attending therapy.
• How long you will be attending therapy (if it is possible to predict at this point)
• Information regarding confidentiality and risk management processes (if applicable)
• Any other aspects that are specific to you and your requirements
Your first therapy session will also usually involve your therapist beginning to formulate/ conceptualise your problems and suggesting what therapy may work best for you.
You will have an opportunity to discuss what you would like to get out of your therapy sessions and your goals for therapy. For example: would you like to stop being so anxious all the time? Be better at controlling your temper? Process trauma? Hence, it is good to think about your focus and your goals prior to coming to the first session.
We will also explore whether you have any worries or concerns when it comes to therapy. We will explore your current symptoms and how they are impacting your daily living. You will have an opportunity to ask any questions you have regarding your mental health difficulties and your therapy sessions, and we will aim to make you feel as comfortable as possible.
It is important to understand that you may become emotional during therapy. You may feel overwhelmed with emptions, as if the floodgate opened or have another unexpected reaction such as ‘shutdown’ or wanting to avoid. This is completely normal, both during your first therapy session and in subsequent sessions. It is likely that you will be talking about difficult feelings or reliving past traumas. Getting upset is being human and not anything to be ashamed or embarrassed about. I always aim at providing safe and supported space for you to explore things.
There are few things you can do to prepare yourself for a therapy session:
– Be prepared to be as open and honest as possible.
It may take time to build trust and it is entirely your choice as to what you want to share. But it is a good idea to try not to withhold or hold back as this may affect your progress. Everything you say is confidential and so the more honest you are with yourself and me, the more you are likely to get out of the sessions. I am friendly, approachable, open, honest and non-judgemental. I hope that this, in turn, can put you at ease. It is often a good idea to come with a few notes or bullet points that you want to share or cover in the session so that you can get the most out of the session.
– Reflect after the sessions and share your insights
Be prepared to discuss how you felt immediately after your last session and how you have felt in between. This may guide what you cover in your current session and this kind of feedback is valuable in guiding me to think how to best help you.
Some types of therapy (e.g. CBT) ask that you complete ‘home tasks’. Try to make sure this is ready and be prepared to talk about it.
There are a few things you can expect to happen following a therapy session:
– Feeling tired or emotionally drained
You may experience tiredness or feelings of being emotionally drained. This is normal and usually a sign of significant processing done in the session. It really can be hard work what you are doing! You may want to try and have a little time and space to yourself post sessions to ‘decompress’ and ‘come back to yourself’. It is not a good idea to rush right into the next thing so give yourself a moment, if you can.
– Wanting to remember more
You may be a person that lives the experience but has a difficulty remembering what happened in the session. If it is you, it’s good to spend a few minutes post session journaling/ making notes – in essence writing down the main points or key take aways.
– ‘Home tasks’
Depending on the type of therapy and type of the session you have had, you may have some learning to do in between sessions. The change, although often instigated in the sessions, happens in real life, and so you may be encouraged to do something to consolidate any new skills or coping strategies by incorporating them into your daily life. Feel free to ask for extra resources or recommendations. I will always work collaboratively with you and we will agree any ‘homework’ you can complete in between the sessions. It is important that you try your best to complete these, as they are designed to help you with your recovery and facilitate change. However, there will never be pressure to perform and if something does not work for you, then this is really valuable information to bring back to the next session (so that we can explore any challenges and find things that may work better)
– Reflection and feedback
You may wish to write down any reflections and feedback to share in the next session. It is also important to jot down any issues or difficulties that come up for you in between therapy sessions, so you are able to talk about these next time.
Starting therapy can be daunting, but it is the first step along your road to recovery and wellbeing.