What can you expect?
I currently hold sessions in my office on the outskirts of Durham and remotely through ‘Wellola Talk’, Zoom, or over the phone. I also provide walk-and-talk therapy sessions where the work is undertaken on the move*. The office is built in my garden and provides a safe and secure space for you to work on your issues, away from any potential conflicts of interest or discomfort that might be harder to avoid in your own home. There is ample free on-street parking immediately outside.
Therapy is a strictly confidential form of treatment; everything that you bring to me will be treated confidentially and respectfully**. Sessions typically last for around one hour and a course of treatment is usually between 6 and 12 sessions. They are usually held either weekly or fortnightly but can be scheduled at a different frequency if required. 90-minute sessions can be arranged if this is likely to help you. You may benefit from longer-term ongoing work and this can be provided when necessary. Whilst counselling does not involve telling you what decisions to make, I often provide information and teach skills to enable you to handle your problems more effectively. You may be asked to practise these skills between sessions to improve your ability to use them when you most need them. I use a solutions-focused approach to counselling, which means that I always bear in mind what needs to happen for you to meet your goals quickly and effectively. I check these goals out with you at regular intervals within your treatment to ensure that we are working on what is most meaningful to you. We will work together to explore whether goals have been met or not and whether a different approach or further support is necessary to help you to achieve them.
*As mentioned above, I also facilitate walking therapy sessions. If you are interested in this, you may also be interested in the ‘walking to wellbeing’ page on this website for a fabulous weekend break involving home-cooked food, lovely walks, increased social connection and therapy sessions tailored to identifying goals and stimulating change.
** Although confidentiality completely covers the vast majority of counselling work, I am bound to break this in specific circumstances. Although extremely rare, these would be discussed when we develop a contract for your work.
