I offer one-to one counselling to clients from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds.
I endeavour to provide you, as my client, with a non-judgemental, space in which you
can explore your life or situation and find solutions to your problems. I will neither tell
you what to do nor offer advice. The unique relationship between client and counsellor
will be the foundation of our work. This relationship is created specifically in your service, to
facilitate and support your efforts to find solutions to your problems.
My first session is without fee. This is because I believe it is important for us to meet and decide whether or not to work together before there has been any financial commitment.
Confidentiality is an important aspect of counselling, and this too will be discussed during the first session. Counselling remains at all times confidential but there may be rare occasions when I would want to break the confidentiality I offer. This would only happen if I thought that you were in serious and imminent danger to yourself or to another, or in the very rare situation when I would be legally bound to do so. I would always discuss this with you, and would encourage you to seek further help yourself; only in an extreme case would I consider breaking confidentiality myself. I am, of course, willing to discuss this further if you wish.
During that first session we may also talk about what has brought you to me, what you want from counselling and what counselling may be able to do for you. If you know you are interested in EMDR we will discuss it, or if I think it might be useful to you I will mention it to you. I will not insist that you use EMDR if for any reason you do not want to. I am happy to answer questions about my training and my work at any time. At the end of the first session we will discuss whether or not my style of counselling is what you are looking for and, if not, I am happy to help you find a different counsellor.