FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

I work from a relational perspective. This means that the therapeutic relationship is at the very heart of how we work together. The idea behind this is that if our pain or hurt has occurred in relationships then it can also be healed in relationships. This type of therapy features in varying degrees in different therapeutic modalities, in Gestalt therapy it can be called dialogue in which the therapist endeavours to be as authentic and genuine as possible and encourages you to do the same. In relational therapy there is emphasis on recognising the therapist as another complex person in the room, with their own flaws, ideas, motivations and humanity. With this as a base point it enables us to practice together pains and pitfalls and triumphs that feature in relationships and then translate this to the outside world. Relating to one another is not something we are commonly taught to do and yet it is natural in life for some of our greatest joys to come from the various relationships we share with others as well as some of the greatest pains. By understanding new ways of relating through relational therapy we can begin to understand ourselves more deeply and re-write our relational patterns.

This means I have training in and use a mix of different modalities of therapy depending on what works for you and combine these different types of therapies together for a unique approach that is highly specified to each individual person. I have training in and utilise Gestalt therapy, psychodynamic therapy (attachment focused) and CBT.

LGBTQ+ affirmative counselling is counselling that isn’t just LGBTQ+ or queer friendly but instead recognises the often complex nuances of being a member of this community. It recognises how homophobia and transphobia and structural violences affect mental health, it considers how existing and growing up in spaces that aren’t affirming can change our ways of thinking, being and behaving. This therapy knows that being queer, trans or LGBTQ+ is as natural and diverse as the natural world that surrounds us.

Not at all. I have experience working with people who are in the LGBTQ+ community as well as people outside of this community as well as people who are ‘questioning’ their sexual, relational or gender orientation.

Yes, if you are a friend or family member of a trans or queer person and you are struggling with this coming to therapy can be very important and helpful.

Once you enquire via phone or email we will arrange to have a 20 minute initial phone call which is a mutual assessment about our suitability of working together. If at this stage I think you may be better suited to a different therapist or specialty I will signpost you to some other people. If we both decide to go ahead we arrange an initial session together. We agree at a time we will meet each week and our first session is a further mutual assessment in which we think about what you might need from therapy and agree on a time commitment of seeing each other for a short term basis for an agreed number of sessions or for open ended therapy.

This is highly individual and it is something we can discuss in our initial phone call or assessment sessions or at any point throughout the counselling process. I know it can be helpful to have some examples of these, this is not a limiting list but I can work with; having appointments every two weeks, paying in advance/monthly if administrative tasks are difficult, sending reminders for sessions, flexibility if cancelling sessions is needed, offering phone calls/video appointments if in person is difficult. This is a non-exhaustive list but just a few examples of what we can arrange together to help counselling work for you.