Therapy, or counselling, is a place that you can discuss what is bothering you with the security of knowing it is confidential. My job as a counsellor is to listen and support you without judgment.

With the information you share we are able to work together within the sessions and then in your own time to find strategies and coping skills to help you through difficult periods of your life.

Therapy is not about giving you advice or telling you what to do.

I work integratively which simply means I use the theory that works with the specific client. Therapy is not a one-size-fits-all approach so each approach is tailored to the client and what they are responding to.

My training has covered psychodynamic, person-centred, and cognitive-behavioural therapy.

My training included other theories at lesser depth and this included transactional analysis and acceptance and commitment therapy which were favourites of mine and something I have done additional learning in.

For clients who are experiencing emotional dysregulation or for those who find themselves needing to increase their distress tolerance, I find that DBT is often useful.

In short, yes. My confidentiality is with the client so whether or not I am working with an adult or a child, what the client says stays with me.

However, there are a few reasons why I may break the confidential nature of the therapeutic relationship which I will detail below.

Safeguarding: I have a legal and moral duty to report if I believe my client or somebody else is at risk of significant harm. Where possible this will be discussed with the client beforehand so that we can address the preferred route taken.

For children the threshold for harm is lower as they are a vulnerable group.

Prevent: I have a legal duty to report knowledge of terrorist or extremist activities or beliefs.

Supervision: as part of my accreditation and to ensure ethical practice, I have monthly supervision. During this I discuss my caseload anonymously with an experienced therapist who has undertaken additional training in supervision.

Court ordered: there are rare times in which a clients situation may result in a judge ordering their client notes. The notes I keep are minimal but in this situation I have legal obligation to provide them.

*At any point during our work or for up to six years afterwards, you can request a copy of the information, including client notes, that I hold on you.

These reasons will be discussed further in our first session and if you have any questions you can ask these then or during your introductory session.

There is sadly no easy answer to this question. Depending on what you want to work on therapy can take as little or as long as you would like.

For example, seeking help with a problem related to a timed decision (feeling stressed because you don’t know whether to take a new job or not) versus wanting to work on a specific behaviour (using food as a way of cope with feelings and reducing this) are likely going to take very different amounts of time.

If you find yourself wanting a set amount of sessions, say six to twelve, then this is something we can do. These sessions tend to be more goal focused rather than exploration focused.

My session rate is £45 per 50-minute session.

Discounts are available to those who purchase sessions in blocks.

I also offer a low-cost service. More information can be found about that here.