Warm, genuine and empathic approach
I adopt the ‘not knowing’ stance in therapy which allows me to come to the sessions open-minded and non-judgemental.
There is an increasing need for people to combat the pressures of modern life and create a space for themselves which is something that therapy can provide. It is my aim to create a safe platform providing a supportive environment in which my clients can grow.
I believe it is very important to build a therapeutic alliance and develop rapport and therefore I tend to work in a collaborative way which means that:
- I involve you in every decision in terms of therapy goals, session frequency and type of approach used.
- I spend time on explaining psychological formulations, therapeutic approaches, concepts and techniques so that you are fully informed and an active party in your own therapeutic process.
I continue to develop my practice by attending Continuous Professional Development events.
Initial assessments
As part of the initial assessment, I tend to use an exercise called ‘the life-line’ where we go through your personal history in a chronological way. This method allows for:
- Identifying links between old and current patterns of behaviour which is the first step towards change.
- Exploration of circumstances or events in your personal history that can get overlooked due to more recent, or more pressing, important concerns or experiences.
- For both of us to understand how you became the person you bring to therapy. This understanding often helps you arrive at a self-compassionate position which promotes establishing more helpful ways in relating to yourself.
Frequency of sessions
I tend to work in a flexible way, usually letting you decide how frequent you can or want to see me. However, this does depend on where we are in our work together. Usually, I would suggest starting the sessions on a weekly basis and once things progress well, moving towards fortnightly or less frequent sessions. Some work such as EMDR Trauma work does require weekly sessions, but I will always discuss this with you beforehand.
Termination of therapy
Usually, when both of us are starting to feel that you are ready to move to monthly review/check-in sessions, discussions will also be held about ending the sessions to avoid inconvenience and unnecessary costs on your part. Sometimes, it can be helpful to develop an action plan that will help you to become your own therapist. To establish such a plan, we may use a session to evaluate the process and outcome of therapy, look at what has been helpful/unhelpful for you, and we will assess your robustness to deal with possible setbacks.
However, in the unlikely event that I feel that I cannot help you any further I may need to finish therapy as I am required by professional ethical standards to do so but I hope that I can let you know whether I can help you or not after the initial assessment to avoid inconvenience on your part.