Counselling has no magic and I offer no exceptional solutions. Most of those offers are people trying to "sell" a way of thinking or of living, or perhaps even just trying to get you to give them money in exchange for some equivalent to snake oil. Counselling, on the other hand, is just talking to someone about your problems. If it sounds like that would be a welcome thing, it may be that it would suit you.
It is helpful if that person is good at listening to you and at helping you look at whatever you want to discuss, without judging you and without trying to encourage you down a particular path. That's why I made sure I received good training before starting to do this work, back in 1993, and I keep my skills up to scratch with on-going professional development work. Whether that means I will be a good counsellor for you is, of course, a much more personal matter and if you contact me, we will spend a little time making sure that we are likely to work well together. I won't take your money for sessions if I don't think I will be able to help you.
I was originally trained in what is often referred to as "Person-Centred Counselling", which means that I will be focusing intensely on you, on what you want to bring to me, and on the developing "landscape" of your story and how it unfolds between us.
Since my first training, I spent a significant part of my early career developing pluralist ways of understanding how counselling and helping can work best. I now describe myself as a pluralist counsellor, researcher and supervisor. The upshot is that I draw on different approaches to working with clients and work with each to find the best way of understanding what is happening and how to move forward.
I have also spent a lot of time working on how counsellors can use technology - like video links or telephones - to help people really well. As a result, a lot of my counselling and supervision work is done over the Internet.
Counselling sessions:
I am happy to work by telephone, video, email, text-chat (SMS), in-person or as “house calls” at your home or workplace. “House calls” are priced differently to account for my travelling time and don't suit everyone.
Unless we make a different arrangement, counselling sessions are typically:
· 50 to 60 minutes in length
· Weekly, twice weekly, fortnightly or monthly
How often we meet will be decided on the basis of what suits you best when we start working together and it is something you may want to review from time to time.
The first session is only charged for if we decide to proceed. If either of us decides not to go ahead for any reason at all, there is no charge for this first session.
Our first session will be a chance for us both to decide if working together will be a good fit and feels right. In that first session we will probably discuss:
· Why you are seeking counselling now
· A bit about you: what makes you “tick” and how you generally deal with things
· What "success" for our work together would look or feel like
· Whether we are a good fit
I sometimes offer counselling on a time-limited basis (eg 6 sessions booked in advance), in which case our last session will usually include a review of our work together. If we are working on an open-ended basis, on the other hand, we can review our work from time to time, looking at where we began and where we have got to. These reviews can form an important part of therapy and help me know whether we are working well, or if anything needs to change. You can raise how the counselling feels for you at any time, of course, and don't need to wait for a review.
What if the technology we're using goes wrong during a counselling session?
Douglas Adams used to be fond of quoting the computer scientist Bran Ferren on this subject. The argument goes that technology is only called technology because sometimes it doesn't work. If it always worked we wouldn't call it technology. We would call it what it is. Chairs were once a new technology but we are very used to them now. One day, we will be just as used to using communications tech and perhaps it will be as user friendly as your sofa. Until then, however, we need to take some care that problems don't arise, or at least that we can deal with them if they do.
Primarily, that means
we both need to make sure that the technology we are using is operating as expected. That may mean switching on your computer and testing your video connection/camera/sound etc before our session is due to start and,
we will usually have a back-up means of communication in place. For example, where sessions are held by video link, but the connection is poor or fails at the start of our session, we would re-convene by telephone (see the Contact page of this website).
I will usually call you if it is a case of technical breakdown, rather than the other way around, unless we have arranged otherwise.
If you want to end your counselling, you can do so at any time. It is generally helpful, for us both, if you can give notice so we can have a closing session, but you are not obligated to continue if it is not working for you.
If I need to end our counselling work, I will endeavour to tell you as early as I can, seeking to maintain a minimum of 4 weeks' notice (except in exceptional circumstances).
My professional Will - If for some reason I am incapacitated and am unable to keep our sessions my colleague, who will be bound by the same rules of confidentiality etc, will contact you with information and referral sources. They have no access to your information in any other circumstance.