What will the first session be like? 

The first session with a new therapist might feel daunting. After all, we are strangers meeting each other for the first time. With this in mind, we will focus on contracting and getting to know each other. This will include a brief, relaxed assessment where I will find out more about your current situation and your needs. We don’t have to dive into anything too deep or personal, unless you want to. There is no rush or ‘right’ way to do counselling, the only thing that needs to be consistent is the time and professional boundaries of our work. Each session will be 50 minutes long with an agreed payment amount, and it will be at the same time and day on a weekly basis. The contracting document I will hand to you will explain this in more detail.

What happens if I change my mind about therapy?

You have full autonomy to decide whether you want to leave counselling. If something doesn’t feel right to you or there’s been a change of schedule in your life, we can discuss this and if you would like to stop for any reason, you can. If you are not able to attend a session due to sickness or changed plans, you will need to give 72 hours notice first for a free cancellation. After 72 hours you will be charged for the session, but I will do my best to offer an alternative slot instead that week if this is the case.

When does therapy end?

 Sometimes people need long term therapy spanning over a few years before they feel ready to end it. Others might want to end after a few months or weeks. Ending our therapeutic relationship is important, and I will offer an ‘Ending Session’ where we can say goodbye to each other so that the ending will not feel too abrupt. We might also spend a few sessions leading up to the ending discussing it, perhaps thinking about your future or how to manage the ending.

It is important to know that the therapy might will end if the contract or boundaries are violated or if it starts to become unsafe. For example, if a client turns up under the influence, repeatedly misses sessions without notice, stops paying, becomes aggressive or sexually inappropriate. It might also need to end if we agree you may need more specialised care and support from another service or therapist, eg: psychiatric care, alcohol and drug rehabilitation or someone who is more experienced in a certain area.

Can I see more than one therapist at the same time?

Ethically it is important to be seeing only one therapist at a time in order to not ‘overlap’ and cause confusion for both the therapist and client. Obviously, if you are attending support groups or under the care of a mental health team elsewhere, this is okay. But it is not recommended to see two different counsellors/psychotherapists at the same time. Each professional works differently, and this might cause conflicts in the work.

What happens if we recognise each other outside of our sessions?

This is normal. Everyone has their own lives outside of work, so it might be that we bump into each other in a social setting. We will discuss how we’d like to handle this. Ethically, clients do not have any relationship with the therapist outside of the sessions under any circumstances - even after therapy has ended. If we recognise each other, we might decide to briefly and politely acknowledge one another and move on or not acknowledge each other at all. If it arises that a client has a relationship with someone I also have a relationship with, it might be best to refer on to a different therapist in order to protect privacy and confidentiality. This will be thoroughly discussed before any decisions are made.

Is absolutely everything I share with you confidential?

Complete confidentiality applies unless there is strong evidence that the client or another person is at immediate harm or high risk, especially in the case of a minor. If it comes to light that a child is being abused, this will need to be reported. I will contact either a GP, my supervisor or in severe cases, the police. Sometimes clients worry that if they share about self-harm or suicidal thoughts, the therapist will immediately have to tell someone else. Talking about self-harm and suicidal thoughts is not the same as someone being in immediate danger or risk to life. Many people have suicidal thoughts but might not act on it, and many people might relapse with self-harm after a period of abstinence or self-harm in a way that is not life-endangering. We will explore these themes together first, and I will assess if there is an immediate threat to life that warrants breaking confidentiality.

Keep in mind that due to ethical purposes all therapists need to undergo regular supervision which supports their work with clients. It ensures that we are doing our jobs, being ethical and taking care of you. What is shared in supervision is also confidential and your names and details can be kept anonymised. Supervision is the place where any risk to life or serious concerns about well-being will be mentioned, so that everyone can be kept safe.