Am I the right therapist for you? It is important that you find a therapist who you feel you can connect with and speak to. A good therapeutic relationship is a central part of the work, and it develops over time where hopefully you will feel comfortable enough to share the things you need to. The best way to find out if I am the right therapist is by meeting in person or having a conversation on the phone or Skype.
We can start things off by having a chat on the phone. You can send me an email to initiate this process and I will respond to you within 24 working hours to arrange a call. Afterwards we can decide together how to take things forward. I offer face-to-face counselling and psychotherapy in two convenient locations: Shoreditch / City of London in E1, and London Bridge, Central / South East London. I also offer online counselling sessions via Skype.
What will happen in the first session? Our first counselling session is more like a ‘get to know you’ session when I will ask you various questions to find out why you wish to start therapy, what you want to work on and your expectations for the work. In turn, I will invite you to ask me as many questions as you like. This first session will last for 50 minutes giving you enough time to see how you feel about working with me. We will also discuss administration information such as cancellation terms, and so forth.
How often do I go for sessions? In person sessions take place on a weekly basis – at the same time and date as arranged in your first session. There can be a little more flexibility with online sessions (for example, if you work shifts), though I aim to keep the timings of online sessions as consistent as possible so that you get the most out of our work.
Each session lasts for 50 minutes. I can work with you on an open-ended basis, or our work can be short-term depending on your needs and goals for therapy. Over the course of our work, I will regularly check in with you to find out how you think we are doing together, and if your needs and therapy aims have changed.
I ask that you give two weeks’ notice if you wish to leave therapy, this is so that we have enough time to honour the ending safely. Please visit Fees & Policiesfor more information.
What is your approach to therapy? I am an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist. This means that I use a range of skills and theories which I tailor depending on your needs. I have provided more detail about this in the About Me section, so please have a look at this page to help get a better idea of my approach, training and the sorts of things I can support you with.
However, I'm fully aware that theories and techniques can only get you so far in this life!
The most important thing is that you feel you can speak to me about the things on your mind, and this is something you will figure out in our first session - whether that's in person or online. In time, you will hopefully get to a point where you can open up in the way you feel you need to so that you can understand yourself better, and you can live your life more fully. What is the difference between counselling and psychotherapy? Both counselling and psychotherapy are often used interchangeably but essentially they both refer to talking therapy. Very often counselling is used to describe short-term or goal-specific work, and psychotherapy is open-ended and works on people’s deep seated emotions and issues from the past which is why more time is needed. My training and professional experience are in both counselling and psychotherapy and this is why I offer open-ended and short-term therapy. If you feel that you have a number of things to work on, or if the difficulties you are experiencing have come up in your life over many years, open-ended therapy might be a more suitable option for you.
Where do I practice? On Tuesdays I practice from rooms in E1 which is between Shoreditch and the City of London (2.30pm and 3.30pm are open). On Mondays I work out of rooms in London Bridge (currently full)which isa 1 minute walk from London Bridge Tube. For location maps, please visit the Contact page.
For those who cannot attend counselling sessions with me in person - either you work outside of London, you work shifts or you just prefer not to have sessions in person - I also offer online therapy via Skype during weekdays and on some evenings.
Many people find online therapy a hugely beneficial alternative to face-to-face counselling.