Frequently Asked Questions
What is Counselling/Psychotherapy?
These terms describe the process of talking to a qualified therapist about your mental health and emotional difficulties. Counselling tends to be viewed as a short-term approach, focusing on one specific issue, whereas psychotherapy provides longer-term, broader treatment. I am trained and qualified to provide both.
Where will our therapy sessions take place?
Remote sessions provide a convenient and flexible option. These can be arranged to take place via a secure online platform. Alternatively, we can meet in-person. I work from home in my private therapy room in Largs, Scotland, which is easily accessible by car, bus and train. Free, on-road parking is available.
How many sessions will I need?
This varies and depends on your needs and the issues you are bringing to therapy. Some clients choose shorter-term, 6-8 session, work and others prefer to attend long-term with an open-ended number of sessions. You don’t have to decide how many sessions you’d like, we can review this as we go along. I suggest starting with 6 sessions and then discussing if you would like to extend.
Do you have a cancellation policy?
If you are unable to attend your session, I ask you give me as much notice as possible. There is no penalty for cancelling more than 24 hours in advance. Sessions missed or cancelled within less than 24 hours of the scheduled appointment time will be charged at the full fee.
Once paid, fees are non-refundable. However, if you cancel 24 hours or more in advance, we can work together to reschedule your session.
If you come to me through an EAP provider, your EAP provider’s cancellation policy will apply.
What happens in our first session?
Our first session is an opportunity for us to meet and begin getting to know each other. You will have opportunity to ask questions about me and the therapy process. I will ask you some questions about your relationships, family, work, health and well-being, your current support networks and previous experiences of therapy. I will then invite you to share what is bringing you to therapy and to explore your hopes and expectations of the process. By the end of the first session, we can come to a mutual decision about how we move forward.
Are our sessions confidential?
Everything you share in our sessions is kept confidential between us. There are three exceptions to this:
1) In line with BACP best practice, I have regular supervision meetings with a qualified supervisor. During these meetings, I discuss my client work (without identifying individuals by name) with my supervisor, who is also bound by the confidentiality agreement.
2) If I believe you or someone else is at risk of harm, I may need to breach confidentiality to contact relevant safeguarding services.
3) If a court of law requires me to disclose information, I may be required to share my records.
Further details are provided in my privacy policy. Wherever possible, I will always try to speak with you about the steps I am going to take first.
I ensure my records are UK GDPR compliant. I am a qualified and registered member of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists and work within their code of ethics with regards to how I conduct our sessions and how I manage client records.
If you come to me through an EAP provider, there is an expectation that the EAP provider will be informed of the progress you are making. This is done through brief session notes that are kept with the EAP provider on a secure online portal.