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 daunting due to the potential fear of being 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-centred 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 determining if we can work together effectively. There is absolutely no obligation to continue the sessions, and it is crucial that 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 within 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 it often requires a sustained period and considerable effort.
FIRST SESSION
During this first session, an agreement will be discussed regarding boundaries, confidentiality, session length, fees, and GDPR Data Protection (see below - Privacy). I would like to ask if you could 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)