TAKING THAT FIRST STEP
Making the decision to attend counselling is a positive step as it can offer support beyond that available from family or friends. Counselling offers an environment in which you can express your feelings and gain deeper insight into your difficulties. The sessions are also confidential, so you can talk about things you might not feel comfortable discussing with anyone else.
When accessing counselling it may feel difficult as it can be a daunting experience due to possible fear around how we may be judged. You may feel some sort of pressure or expectation to open up about all sorts of things to someone who is essentially a stranger. Feeling a bit anxious about it is totally understandable, however, what to remember is that the counselling I offer is a person centered approach. This means that the counselling is led by you and not directed by the counsellor.
Most importantly you do need to feel comfortable with your counsellor. Therefore, the first session will be about us getting to know each other and to see if we can work together. There is absolutely no obligation to continue the sessions and it is crucial you feel comfortable with your chosen counsellor before continuing with regular sessions.
You will need to know if I am safe to work with. I am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and work to their ethical framework. I am DBS checked (Disclosure and Barring Service) and this means I am safe to work with children and young people.
Counselling can take time, so don’t be dismayed if it doesn’t seem to help at first. You may find it immediately helpful, but often it can take a sustained period and lots of effort.
FIRST SESSION
During this first session an agreement will be discussed about the boundaries, confidentiality, session length, fees and GDRP Data Protection (see below - privacy). I will ask if you can explain to me what brings you to counselling. If all goes well then the next step would be to arrange a suitable day and time that suits us both to meet weekly. Each session will last 1 hour. The counselling will take place at a discreet residential address (with parking) in a comfortable garden room.
PRIVACY
Your privacy is very important to me and you can be confident that your personal information will be kept safe and secure and will only be used for the purpose it was given to me.
Privacy policy (Please click on link)
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) guidance
I have put some procedures in place to help protect us. Firstly, I would like you to know that I am fully vaccinated. I will ventilate the counselling room and sterilise all surfaces and door handles after each client. Hand sanitiser is available and the room has been set up so that there is the appropriate distance between us. If requested to do so, I am happy to wear a mask. If you are displaying any COVID symptoms, please email or call to rearrange.