What issues can you help with?
How often will I have a session?
How many sessions will it take?
Is it completely confidential?
What happens if I lose internet?
What sort of counselling do you do?
Don't I just need CBT/antidepressants?
I'm interested - what happens next?
I have worked with clients experiencing depression, anxiety (particularly social anxiety), anger issues, sleep difficulties, suicidal thoughts, childhood trauma, attention problems, relationship concerns, and many other challenges. If you have an issue that requires specialist help that I do not offer (such as drug addiction treatment or eating disorders), I may be able to help you find a suitable counsellor.
Zoom sessions cost £60 for 50 minutes, payable in advance by BACS transfer. I offer a limited number of reduced cost sessions for clients on low incomes, please ask me about this if appropriate.
A counselling session is your time to talk about anything you wish. My role is to listen without judging, and to help you explore strategies that might help you progress past your current difficulties. As well as "just" talking, our work together might include breathing/meditation/visualisation exercises, body awareness, creative work or role play.
The standard length for counselling sessions is 50 minutes.
Counselling is most effective when sessions take place weekly. As you approach the end of therapy, we may agree a gradual reduction in frequency.
This varies from one client to the next, but many clients feel sufficiently empowered to finish counselling after around ten sessions. I have occasionally seen clients who have felt ready to move on after just two sessions, while others with more complex difficulties have continued for around thirty.
Confidentiality is a vital part of counselling - you can trust me with your most difficult or painful thoughts and be assured that I will not divulge anything you tell me to your family, employer, doctor, or anyone who knows you. However, there are certain limits to confidentiality: if I have reason to believe that you or anyone else is in danger of harm, or that you have been involved in certain serious criminal activities, I am legally obliged to pass this information on. I am also legally obliged to provide any notes I make about our sessions if asked to do so by a court. All counsellors are required to see a clinical supervisor every month, to ensure we are working ethically and effectively, and I will discuss our work with my supervisor in an anonymised way, so I might refer to you simply by one of your initials.
Since Covid-19 restrictions have now been lifted, I am able to offer face to face, or walk and talk sessions in North Cambridge - please note that the charge for these is slightly higher to cover my travelling time and room hire.
Online counselling does occasionally present technical challenges, but I will always make sure you have the allotted time - if either one of us loses internet connection for more than five minutes during a session, we will rearrange the remaining time for another day, at no further cost to you.
I do not believe that any single model or theory of counselling/psychotherapy has a monopoly on the truth, so I draw on different approaches to suit each client. My way of working has its roots in Carl Rogers' person centred approach, which views the client as the expert on their own experience, and seeks to build a productive working partnership through empathy, trust and rapport. I will also bring in psychodynamic or cognitive/behavioural techniques as appropriate. I believe that an understanding of how our emotions evolved to help our ancestors survive as hunter-gatherers can give a helpful perspective on our modern day stresses and problems. This is reflected in recent studies in the field of interpersonal neurobiology. Whatever issues you bring to counselling, I will work with you to develop a genuinely supportive relationship, which research has shown is the most important factor in bringing about therapeutic change.
Cognitive behaviour therapy or CBT has had a great deal of publicity in recent years, portraying it as the gold standard of scientific, evidence based therapy. The NHS does offer six sessions of CBT through the IAPT (Improved Access to Psychological Therapies) scheme, however there are long waiting lists, and many people find that the treatment, with its emphasis on "correcting" unhelpful thought patterns and completing homework tasks is impersonal, and not effective in the long term. I am more than happy to use CBT techniques in our work together, but I don't view them as a "magic bullet" that is applicable to every situation. As for antidepressant medication, I have talked to clients who said they literally saved their lives, and others who have found them more harmful than helpful. There is evidence that a combination of medication and counselling can be effective for some people, but the decision to take medication has to be one you make yourself, with advice and support from your GP.
It is true that "counsellor" and "psychotherapist" are unprotected titles in the UK, meaning anyone can legally use them. However, to be eligible for insurance and membership of one of the professional bodies, such as the National Counselling Society, that holds a register accredited by the Professional Standards Agency, a counsellor or psychotherapist should be trained to diploma level on a nationally recognised course. A six week online "Become a counsellor" course advertised on Facebook does not satisfy these requirements. I have a diploma in counselling and a BSc honours degree in psychology. Since qualifying, I have worked in schools, a number of Cambridge University colleges, with EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) providers, and with private clients. I have also been a tutor on a counselling course and delivered mental health training to staff and students in some Cambridge colleges. I am an accredited registrant member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society and subscribe to their code of ethics (available here), and have full professional liability insurance.
As with any information you share with me, your personal details are confidential. I will never pass your name or other identifying data to any other person or organisation without either written instructions from you or a court order. All communication between us will be kept on password/fingerprint protected devices, either carried with me or kept in a locked location. I do not keep any paper records. I am registered with the information commissioner's office.
You can email me, or call/text on 07935 148013. We will arrange a free initial online consultation session over Zoom, which will take around 30 minutes. This is a time for you to outline the issues that have brought you to seek counselling, and for me to tell you about the way I work. This allows us both to judge whether we feel I would be the right counsellor for you.