Initially you are invited in for a one-off consultation; this is an opportunity to discuss your feelings, needs and problems and to experience being empathically heard. It is also an opportunity for you to ask questions about the whole process of counselling.

It is difficult to say how long you can expect to be in therapy. Psychodynamic therapy can generally take anywhere from a few months to a few years; this is because our time is invested in discovering the core reasons for the problems you are facing in your life.
There are also other factors, like the severity of your difficulties or the commitment you are able to make to your recovery both in terms of time and money. With a good level of commitment, many issues can be resolved and you can be on your way to a happier life.

In my view personal growth can be a life-long process. However, broadly speaking, it is when you find that you have resolution or that there is an absence of the difficulties that you go into therapy with, that you will know that you have completed this chapter. When appropriate, we will work on the ending of therapy together, making sure that you are ready to end the counselling process safely.

A counsellor is trained to provide a professional service and part of this means confidentiality, honesty and integrity. You can expect a counsellor to have a high level of training and skill and it is within your right to ask to see their qualifications.

You can expect a counsellor to listen to you exclusively, without interruption or disturbance, thereby ensuring you are heard and understood. You can expect that a counsellor will never enter into a personal relationship with you, as this would contravene the professional code of conduct, and is completely unethical.

Forgiveness is not a requirement for healing, however if the purpose of forgiveness is the release of negative attachments then it is important to learn to do that. In the first place the most important person to forgive is yourself, after that comes forgiving others.

I am a member of British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapist (BACP) (BACP )
I am also a member of the College for Psychosexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) (COSRT )

Should you wish to make a complaint about my services you can contact either organisation.