FAQ
What is the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?
Generally speaking, the difference is not massive. Counselling is about exploring issues that are problematic for clients in their everyday lives and it aims to improve things for them. Counselling can usually be effective as a short-term but also as a long-term therapy for a wide variety of issues, positively impacting clients’ mental health.
Psychotherapy is often long-term and more in-depth, focusing on the exploration of client’s feelings, beliefs and thoughts. It is done in a safe and confidential space where clients have the opportunity to understand themselves better and work towards getting out of their unhelpful ways of being in the world and with other people.
What sort of issues do people come to therapy with?
You can bring to therapy any issue that you might struggle with. I will be happy to talk about anything. From my experience the most common issues are: depression or low mood; stress and anxiety; low self-esteem; relationships, including family, friends and romantic partners; chronic pain & illness; living with invisible disability; childhood trauma; trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); eating disorders and many more.
What will happen in my first session?
In your first session, I will present you with a written contract which includes all the important formal aspects of us working together, i.e. confidentiality, cancellations or payment.
I will also ask you a few questions about your situation and tell you a bit more about how I work and what might be best for you. In our first conversation, I will want us to identify the goals for therapy and how they might be achieved. Once we have therapeutically ‘contracted’, you can begin your journey.
How do I prepare myself for my first session?
There is no need or a requirement for any formal or informal preparation. You can simply trust the process or bring a list of things you want to talk about in your first session if that helps. Whatever works for you, really.
Do I have to commit to therapy?
Once you have decided you want to seek therapy, I ask my clients to commit to at least six sessions. Therapy is a process where trust and alliance are established over a period of time therefore it may take a while for a person to feel comfortable and safe in the therapy room.
In the first session, I also present my clients with a written contract which is more for clarity, boundary-setting and information, rather than something definitely binding.
What is the type of psychotherapy you practice?
I am an Integrative and Transactional Analyst which means I use a modality of psychotherapy called Transactional Analysis in my therapeutic work with clients, as well as I integrate some other modalities which I find useful. For example, Psychodynamic Therapy; Solution-Focused Brief Therapy; the polyvagal theory or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).