Questions

At the centre of my approach is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). At its heart, this approach to therapy is based on helping you develop your self-knowledge and emotional intelligence to build your psychological and mental strength.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a powerful mindfulness-based therapy (and coaching model) which currently leads the field in terms of research, application and results.

I will work with you to build genuine happiness from the inside out by:

• Developing mindfulness (without meditation) skills. I prefer the term 'watchfulness'. These are psychological skills to help you understand why we all suffer from anxiety, self-doubt, and low self-confidence - and how you can effectively cope and deal with these painful thoughts and feelings o that they don’t get in the way of enjoying and appreciating your life. I can help you transform old patterns into new more helpful habits.
• Helping you to clarify what is truly important and meaningful to you – i.e your values – then use that knowledge to guide, inspire and motivate you to change your life for the better – even when times are tough.
• Emphasising the crucial nature of self-care and giving you tools and techniques to help you to develop self-compassion and treat yourself kindly.

Your confidentiality in our therapeutic relationship is paramount. There are certain circumstances, however, in which I may need to break confidentiality in order to protect the life and health of yourself and / or others and to work within the law. This is the same for any ethical counsellor. Wherever possible, I will advise you in advance that I must do this, but this may not always be possible. These instances may include if I feel you are at risk of suicide, or if  I believe you may be harming others, especially children.

Sometimes I may also wish to consult with another health professional about your treatment, such as your doctor, and I will always seek your written consent to do this.

As an Accredited Member of BACP I am required to have regular clinical supervision and need to discuss aspects of my work with a supervisor on a regular basis. My supervisor adheres to the same BACP code of confidentiality.

You can find my full business contract and privacy statement here

I offer face to face counselling from my office in Stafford and I offer telephone and video counselling across the UK. Some clients prefer to flexibly 'mix and match' their sessions according to the demands of their life  - for example, the majority of their sessions may take place by video but every so often they may choose to meet face to face.

I recommend that our initial session be face to face where possible. 

I recognise how important it is for your therapy to fit around your work, childcare and life commitments so I try to offer a flexible diary. You can choose when and how often to have an appointment. You can book a therapy session at a time to suit you throughout the week, including evenings. Please note, however, that evening sessions are in high demand and you may have to wait a considerable while for one to become available. 

If you are starting therapy with me, in the beginning we will need to meet at least every two weeks. This allows us to get to know each other more quickly and makes the therapy more effective for you. 

A 55 minute session costs £55.

Some clients enjoy the freedom that an extended session lasting 1.5 hours gives them. The cost of a 1.5 hour session is £82.50.

As my counselling psychotherapy practice is my primary source of income, non-attended sessions can create a problem as I still need to pay rent for my room and facilities. Non-attendance also deprives another person of an appointment.

Any non-attended appointments or cancellations with less than 24-hours notice will be charged at £25 and same-day cancellations are payable in full at £55.