Counselling is a process that normally needs to happen over a period of time to be effective. Usually I see individuals for a regular 50 minute appointment once a week. Sessions for couples can be longer by arrangement at 50 – 75 minutes, to allow time for both people to share their thoughts and work together on their relationship. Working together on a weekly basis helps establish a supportive counselling relationship and this in itself can be therapeutic whilst we look at the issues which brought you to counselling. It can also contribute a sense of momentum to the work, as sessions can build on each other, whilst allowing enough time in between for you to think things through and experiment with any changes you would like to try out in your day to day life.
I offer both short and long term counselling and when we first meet we can talk about which would best suit your circumstances. From time to time we will review how the counselling to ensure it is meeting your needs and we can adjust the time frame if appropriate.
Counselling sessions cost £55 for individuals and £75 for couples. Concesions are sometimes available.
Short Term Counselling
A short period of counselling, for example between 6 to 10 sessions can be used to focus in on a particular aspect of your life. For example, the need to adjust to current changes in the family or at work, an important decision that you need to make, or a specific challenge that you are facing. We would discuss what it was that you wanted to achieve in coming to see me and then once this was agreed, focus on working towards those goals. There would be an option to change to do a longer piece of work if you wished to.
Long Term Counselling
A longer, open ended period of counselling allows more flexibility and can be more supportive. It allows time and space to explore things more deeply. For example, painful past events which continue to cause difficulties in the present, or repeating patterns in life and relationships can be addressed, or there can be space to mourn the loss of a loved one. This can take time and knowing that you can take as long as needed is important. We will review the counselling occaisionally to ensure that you are continuing to find the sessions useful. When longer term counselling comes towards an agreed end we would normally take a few sessions to review the work we have done together and say goodbye.