Online Counselling
Online counselling can be a great option for individuals who may struggle to attend face to face sessions for several reasons including geographical location, mobility difficulties and time.
Can everyone access online sessions?
Unfortunately, there are a small number of clients who won’t be able to access online sessions either because they don't have access to the technology or because they are in crisis and would benefit from more specialist support.
For this reason, anyone looking to access online sessions will need to have a free, telephone consultation where we can make sure it is the right type of therapy for you before we start. This also gives you the opportunity to ask me any questions about counselling and how I work to make sure I am the right person for you.
For more details on the areas I will ask about, please contact me and I will send you further information about what we will talk about in the initial consultation as well as my current availability.
Booking an appointment
Once we have had our initial, free telephone consultation and checked online sessions are suitable you will be able to book your first session, either during the call or afterwards via email or phone.
I will send you some information via email (a copy of my contract and privacy notice) for you to read through, as well as an information sheet to be completed prior to or at the beginning of our first session. Finally I will send you details on how to use Zoom (the platform our sessions will take place over) and a link to our session.
To make sure you have the best experience of online counselling you will need to take a small amount of time to think about where and how to access your sessions.
You will need to have a quiet and confidential space where you are not worried about getting interrupted or overheard. It’s important that you feel comfortable to speak about what you need to in the moment.
You will also want to make sure you are physically comfortable, so it’s a good idea to think about where you will be sitting and where your device will be for the session. You might want to have things like a drink, tissues or something warm to put on nearby.
What to expect in your first session
At the beginning of our first session we will go through the contract I will have sent by email so you have a chance to ask questions about anything you are unsure of. The contract lays out what we can expect of each other around things like confidentiality, payment, cancellations, data storage, etc. We will also make sure that the information sheet is completed (this includes information like your contact details and who to contact in an emergency). I ask all clients to complete these before we start working together.
Once I have answered any questions we have we will start by talking about what has brought you to therapy and what you would like to get from it. Sometimes this is very straight forward, but for other clients this can be quite difficult to put into words, often we know something is not right, but we can’t quite put our finger on what it is.
If that is the case for you then I will usually suggest that we spend the first session mapping out what is currently going on in your life and talking about any areas that you might like to explore in therapy. Sometimes a focus will emerge quite quickly, whether it’s an experience, emotion or question that you wish to explore. For others we might spend several sessions sorting through the past and present before some clarity begins to emerge.
If you are already clear on what your focus is then we will discuss how you would like to approach it. I might make suggestions of possible starting points or initial steps, but you will be in control and are always welcome to say no. The important thing is that we will work together to find a way that works for you.
Appointment Details and Costs
Online counselling takes place via Zoom, you will need to register for a free account with zoom to access sessions.
Counselling sessions last 50 minutes.
Sessions cost £60 and must be paid for in advance by bank transfer.
Online sessions cancelled with less than 24hrs notice will still be charged for.
If there is a difficulty with technology that impacts on the session we will discuss alternative options such as continuing over the phone or rescheduling.