Individual therapy

People start to heal the moment they feel heard and understood.
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The First Steps

Whether you need support with a current or longer term issue that is affecting your life, you have made a brave decision. After taking the first step by deciding to seek help, the next step is choosing the right therapist for you.

 

Coming to therapy, especially for the first time, may feel daunting but it is an investment in your future wellbeing. 

Our Sessions

During our sessions, you will have time just for you, in a safe and confidential space, where you have the opportunity to think and talk about yourself and your concerns in a way that you often can’t do with family, friends or colleagues. In our first session, we will complete a standardised questionnaire to assess your current level of anxiety and depression and assess any risk factors, and gain a general overview of what is concerning you, what you would like to achieve from therapy and your preferred style of working together. We will review this together regularly.

The First Step

The first step to getting anywhere is deciding that you're no longer willing the stay where you are.

I HearYou

I will listen empathically to what matters to you and what you wish to change. Working pluralistically, I draw from a number of different therapeutic approaches to meet your needs. I will offer you reflection and the right amount of challenge to help you gain insight and clarity to your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. If appropriate, I will offer therapeutic theory in a form that is relevant to you to help you gain understanding and practical strategies to help you cope.

Connection

People don't want to be talked out of their feelings. People want to be heard, seen, felt and understood.

Resolving Issues

I don’t like to label or categorise ‘issues’. Everyone experiences them in their unique way. But for ease of reference, I regularly work with people experiencing concerns with their relationships, anxiety, depression, stress, low self-worth, eating disorders, loss – bereavement, infertility, divorce, retirement or redundancy – lack of focus or purpose, self-harm, suicidal ideation and abuse – sexual, physical and emotional. That is by no means an exhaustive list, but it should give you an idea of the range of issues where I can help.

Processing

In order to resolve a problem, it helps to look at it. You can't climb a mountain that you pretend isn't there.

We Work Together

Together we will work towards improving your well-being, in a manner and pace to suit you, and empower you to gain different perspectives and make the changes you want in your life and in your relationships with others. It is your journey and will be unique. I will work alongside you to support you and help you get to where you want to be.

 

If this sounds right for you, please get in touch.

Journey

Therapy is your internal journey. It's where you are going rather than how you get there. You don't have to do it alone. Trust the process.
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Why Choose Me?

Professional

Professionally qualified and highly experienced Therapist

Effective

Track record of successful outcomes and recommendations

Specialist

Individual therapy and couples counselling specialist

Accessible

Choice of face-to-face, Zoom or telephone sessions

Secure

Online system to maintain privacy of your personal details

Understanding Private Therapy

What is counselling/therapy?
There are strict guidelines that a counsellor must adhere to at all times. Counselling is a contractual arrangement between a qualified counsellor (me) and a client (you) who meet in privacy and confidence to explore issues you may be experiencing. Counselling is always undertaken at your request and no-one should ever be ’sent’. There are many situations where people with influence in our lives may suggest counselling as a solution to a problem. This should be offered without any pressure or strings attached. Usually, people come to counselling when they have a problem and so the ‘type’ of therapy used by the counsellor is often overlooked. As in all situations there is more than one way of dealing with issues and counselling is no different.
What type of therapy is it?
There are many different approaches to therapy. I have trained in Person-Centred Approach (PCA), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Transactional Analysis (TA), Focus Oriented Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, CAMS – Clinical Assessment and Management of Suicidality and Couples Counselling and am committed to Continuing Professional Development (CPD), regularly attending additional courses covering a wide range of issues and approaches. I work pluralistically, drawing from different approaches to meet your needs in a challenging but respectful manner, endeavouring to make theoretical knowledge relevant to you individually to help you understand and make positive change to your life.
What is the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?
Essentially, they are the same ‘talking therapies’. However, counselling tends to be shorter term, dealing with current problems such as stress, anxiety, loss, lack of focus and often includes practical coping strategies in addition to talking through the problem. Whereas, psychotherapy tends to be, but not necessarily, longer term, addressing deep-rooted issues such as self-worth, and may involve exploring early experiences. It may be the case when working through a current problem that deeper-rooted issues are uncovered. It is your choice whether you wish to work with and process those issues.
How many sessions will I/we need to have?
Each session lasts for one hour on a weekly basis, although some chose to have fortnightly sessions. However, it is not possible to pre-determine how many sessions you will need. There are no constraints on the number of sessions you have. Some need only a few sessions and others continue with sessions for many months. We will review our work together regularly and it depends on when you feel you have achieved what you want from therapy that we agree and plan an appropriate ending.
What happens during the first session?
The first session is an informal evaluation where I will gain an idea of your background and what is going on for you at the moment and undertake standard assessments of anxiety and low mood. It is a two-way process so it’s also an opportunity for you to ‘suss’ me out and clarify any questions you may have. To some extent we often have reservations when meeting someone new but in therapy trust is very important.
What happens in subsequent sessions?
If you decide to continue, it is really important that you make a firm commitment to attending regularly. You may know what you want to achieve from therapy or you may be unclear. We can work on establishing some goals for you, we can look at your issues from different perspectives and explore the options open to you. We can look at your underlying feelings and work through these so they are gradually ‘processed’ and understood. With support it can be a safe journey and the goals therefore more achievable than trying to face things on your own. At times counselling can be demanding, frustrating, emotional and just plain difficult. There are no guarantees, but if approached properly your therapy will involve some hard work for both of us - but the results will be worth it!
What won’t happen in therapy?
I will help you to make decisions but I won’t tell you what to do. If that is what you want you need to look for a different source of help such as information and advice agencies, telephone help lines, support or self-help groups. Counselling is not like going to a doctor to be ‘cured, I won’t judge you, prescribe a wonder/miracle cure for your problem or give you advice but empower you to make your own decisions.
Do I/we have to tell you everything about myself?
No. Your therapy sessions are yours and you have a right to take things at a speed that you are comfortable with. That said, obviously withholding details that could otherwise be helpful to your therapy can slow progress. Trust is an important part of the relationship between clients and counsellors and as trust builds up between us you are likely to reveal more about yourself and as a result, discover more.
Will everything I/we say be kept confidential?
Usually what you talk about in your therapy sessions is confidential; however, there may be some circumstances that may prompt me to talk to another professional. The main exceptions to confidentiality are:
- Supervision of my work which is a requirement of my profession - When I have your permission to breach confidentiality:
- When it is in the wider public interest such as a risk of harm to self or others:
- If a court has made a legal order:
Session notes are stored on a secure site. You will be provided with full details before your first session to enable you to be aware of confidentiality terms.
How will I/we know if counselling is working?
I am committed to providing counselling that adheres to the highest standards of quality and service. Part of that commitment is helping you to achieve the outcomes you want from therapy. For this reason it is very important that you are involved in monitoring your progress and we will review our work together regularly.
Where do we meet?
You have a choice of meeting face-to-face at my practice rooms in Warton or Lancaster or via Zoom video conferencing depending on your preference.
How much does it cost?
Your investment is £75 per 60 minute session OR £420 for six pre-booked sessions Payment can be made via BACS prior to the session.
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Mindwell Matters are committed to helping everyone improve their mental wellbeing.

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