FAQ

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Counselling is a talking therapy. It offers you a safe, confidential place to talk about yourself and your life and anything that you may find painful, difficult or confusing. It allows you to step away from everyday life to discuss your concerns with someone who is trained to listen attentively and empathically, in a way that you may not be able to do with family and friends.  Counselling gives you the opportunity to express and process your feelings, make positive changes in your life and help improve your emotional and physical wellbeing. 

Psychodynamic counselling and therapy takes as its starting point the idea that the past can influence the present and that there are sometimes negative unconscious forces at work in our lives that undermine our ability to be happy. These forces can be difficult to see without the help of someone else. 

As a psychodynamic counsellor my aim is to help you become more aware and to bring unconscious feelings into consciousness. This may involve helping you to think about the roots of your issues, identify and acknowledge what may sometimes be repeating patterns of unhelpful behaviour and help you develop greater personal insight and self-awareness.  

This insight and self-awareness can then lead to personal growth - a reduction in your distress, improved personal resilience and resources, a greater capacity for managing difficulties and the ability to form better relationships. The relationship between us is likely to be central to the counselling.  

• Abuse 
• Adoption
• Anger Management 
• Anxiety 
• Bereavement 
• Bullying 
• Carer Support
• Depression 
• Domestic Violence 
• Family Issues 
• Ill Health/Disability 
• Infertility  
• Low Self Esteem/ Lack of Confidence
• Mental Health Issues 
• Miscarriage
• Post Natal Depression
• Redundancy
• Relationship Issues 
• Self Harm
• Separation and Divorce 
• Stress 
• Suicidal Feelings
• Work Related Issues 

During the first session you will have the opportunity to tell me all about your life and those things that are causing you distress. You will have the chance to ask questions and we will be able to think about whether counselling is for you and whether I am the best person to provide it for you. The first session is likely to last one hour and any subsequent sessions 50 minutes.  

I work both short term (1 to 12 sessions) and longer term. The number of sessions you need is likely to depend on how many issues you bring, whether you want open ended counselling where you get the opportunity to work at your own pace, or short term counselling where you may wish to focus on a specific issue. 

Generally counselling takes place once a week. However, sometimes we may agree to meet more or less frequently than this.  

Counselling is confidential. This means that I will not disclose what has been discussed during a counselling session. I abide by the BACP Ethical Guidelines on confidentiality. Any concerns you have about this can be discussed at an initial session.  

I work from comfortable and quiet surroundings at:

The Garden Room,

Stour Row,

Shaftesbury,

Dorset

The purpose built Garden Room is located in a quiet and private garden in the village of Stour Row.

My fee is £55 per session. 

I can offer some individuals a concession depending on your circumstances. Please contact me to discuss this.  

Please click the bacp logo below and then click on 'For Clients' to get more answers to frequently asked questions about therapy and counselling