What to expect in counselling

Initial Contact

I offer an initial free short telephone or zoom call to work out what you need from counselling and a sense of who I am as a counsellor.

 

What Happens Next?

I would then arrange our first appointment together; which would be face to face or on Zoom Video Call to conduct an initial assessment where I would get some details from you, such as contact details including GP details, personal history, health history (where relevant), what you are needing from counselling and from me as your potential counsellor, should you chose me.

​

Is the Counselling Confidential? 

As a member of the BACP I am required to work within their professional codes of conduct when working with clients. 

This means that the work we do either face to face, telephone call or online will be confidential

​

However there are some important limitations to this to help keep yourself and others safe. 

• As a counsellor, I have ongoing supervision where I do discuss elements of our sessions with my supervisor in order to give you the best support possible, but your anonymity is protected.

• Should you discuss something that is a serious risk of harm to yourself or others, I would have to break confidentiality in these situations to ensure safety of all involved.

​

In relation to confidentiality, I will not record your sessions unless with prior written consent and in turn you may not record our sessions on any device. I request that your phones are switched on to silent unless you are possibly expecting an emergency call.

 

I respectfully request that no eating or drinking (unless water) take place during the sessions together, and please note no family members can be brought into sessions to 'listen in'. These are one to one sessions unless otherwise stated.

​

In compliance with keeping confidentiality, I will discuss in the 'more' section in the top tab of the home page, how I store and keep safe your personal details.

​

​

What Can I Expect from Counselling?

During the initial session, I will get a fair idea about how you need me to work as a counsellor.

I'm a very down to earth counsellor and non-judgemental. 

I tailor your counselling to your personal individual needs and emotions.

My role as your counsellor is to listen carefully, I am not there to tell you what to do or give you advice.

​

With developing trust over time, I help you to work through difficult feelings, emotions and experiences and together we can work to develop tools and coping strategies to help you in the future.

​

The idea of counselling is that the process can help you to understand yourself and your needs better after exploring what makes you tick.

​

​

​

​