How much are your fees?

• Introductory call: Free of charge. Introductory calls normally last around 20-30 minutes. It will give me a chance to find out a little about you and what you are looking for from therapy, and you will be able to ask questions. This will also give us chance to discuss mutual availability, and see if I have the right skills and experience to help you.
• Uxbridge: £60 a session – 50 minutes
• Zoom: £60 a session – 50 minutes

What do fees include?

In addition to our sessions together, I put time aside between appoints to review and support our work, to ensure I am providing you with the best possible support.

Therapy can seem expensive but as well as your 50 minute sessions, your therapy with me also includes:

Keeping notes of our sessions; checking notes before we meet; accessing regular professional supervision to discuss my work with you if needed; updating my knowledge and training if needed (CPD – Continuing Professional Development); ensuring your data is stored and processed legally and confidentially; ensuring Safeguarding and Duty of Care to you; ensuring other legal and ethical requirements; responding to correspondence usually within 24 hours (for instance if you need to rearrange a session); referral letters if needed, for instance, if you require a letter to support a GP referral for autism or ADHD assessment.

I am also: fully insured; DBS checked; a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP); on the BACP register; registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO); and use specialist professional supervision.

Where and when are appointments available?

• Uxbridge – in person face-to-face: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 10am-6.30pm (last appt 5.30pm); Fridays 10am-1pm (last appt 1pm)
• Video sessions – Zoom: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 10am-6.30pm (last appt 5.30pm); Fridays 10am-2pm (last appointment 1pm)

What methods of payments do you accept?

Payment is normally by bank transfer 24 hour in advance of sessions.

What is your cancellation policy?

My cancellation policy is 24 hours notice.  I am happy to reschedule within the week if possible, late cancellations and missed sessions are chargeable at the full rate.

How frequently should I attend?

Ideally, I see clients once a week, at the same time and day each week. This is the best way for me to get to know you in sufficient depth, for us to build a trusting and effective therapeutic relationship, and ensure continuity in our work. It also means I will always have an appointment available for you as the same ‘slot’ will be reserved for you.

However, if you are unable to attend weekly, for instance if you work as a contractor or on a shift pattern, or weekly therapy is outside your budget, please let me know and we can discuss options. Ad hoc or fortnightly appointments may be suitable depending on your needs.

How long should I have therapy for?

This depends on what you would like from therapy, and the difficulties you are bringing. I will talk this through with you, and we can look at your options depending on what you are hoping to achieve.

It can work well to start on a ‘session by session’ basis and see how things go, or to agree a certain number of sessions with an agreed focus.

Depending on the complexity of what you are trying to deal with, you may be best suited to short-term work (usually about 6 sessions), medium-term (about 12 sessions), or longer-term. In longer-term therapy the timescale is not fixed in advance, and ends when you are ready to finish, this being worked out through ongoing reviews.

What kind of issues do you help with?

I work with difficulties including: anxiety; social anxiety; depression; low self-esteem; guilt; shame; relationship difficulties; life transitions; problems at work; trauma including PTSD; complex trauma (cPTSD) and narcissistic abuse; gender, sex and relationship diversity; questions around identity; bereavement and losses; pets and pet bereavement.

I have a special interest in working with autistic* and ADD/ADHD people, and folks who are questioning whether they may be autistic or ADHD/ADD, as well as late-diagnosed or late-identifying people.  I am pro-neurodiversity/neurodiversity-affirmative, and anti-ABA.  I am also LGBTQ+ affirmative.

*ASD, ASC, autism spectrum, Asperger’s Syndrome, AS. Please let me know your own preferred language.

I also work with clients who have experienced problems or harm in previous therapies, helping you understand what went wrong, and how best to deal with the impact.

What if I am disabled or need adjustments to access counselling?

If you are a wheelchair user or have other mobility support needs, my Westminster/Vauxhall therapy room has full disabled access, although unfortunately there is no disabled parking nearby.

My therapy room in Uxbridge is on the ground floor with a single step to access the building, and a single step to access the toilet, which is also on the ground floor. I am sorry that I am not wheelchair accessible, video sessions are available if this feels like a suitable alternative for you.

If there is anything I can do to help enable you to access counselling with me, such as adjustments for sensory or communication needs, please let me know. If you are unsure what is needed, we can look at this  together.

Identity, inclusion, personal pronouns and language

Your own preferences about how you want to describe yourself and your experience come first.

I would encourage you to let me know if you have any preferred personal pronouns and language/diagnosis around any aspect of your identity, and provide an opportunity for this on my intake forms. If you are autistic/neurodivergent or disabled, please let me know if you might prefer identity-first language (‘autistic person’  or ‘disabled person’) or person first (‘person with autism’ ‘with a disability) – or if you do not have any opinion, that is fine too!

I work from an affirmative standpoint with LGBTQ+/Gender, Sex and Relationship Diversity (GSRD) people and actively against heteronormative and binary assumptions.

I am committed to practicing inclusion, improving my inclusivity practices on an ongoing basis, and working against all oppressive, marginalising and discriminatory attitudes. I welcome feedback and discussion around these subjects.

What is ‘Integrative Psychodynamic Counselling’ and ‘Integrative Studies’?

My  ‘integrative’ therapeutic approach and training means using a number of psychological theories and research findings, rather than a single model.  This often involves finding common ground between different perspectives, or looking at the same problem from a number of different standpoints.

What if I need support between sessions?

Depending on your difficulties, you may benefit from other support options in addition to your therapy with me, which could include your GP, an NHS crisis or Home Treatment team, a referral, helplines and online support groups. We can discuss this and work out together what is likely to help you most if needed.

Are there any disadvantages to being in therapy?

Counselling and psychotherapy are generally safe treatments which can have excellent outcomes. Whilst experiencing some distress when talking through  difficult experiences, or feeling ‘worse before you feel better’ can be a natural part of therapy, sometimes, as with medical treatments, the therapy may not meet the needs of the client, or can itself can have ‘side effects’ (eg Hook & Devereux, 2018). 

Monitoring the therapy for signs of this is important, including the therapist reviewing the client’s needs and their own competency ongoing, supported by professional supervision, as well as keeping up to date with CPD (continuing professional development).

‘Idiopathic’ (ie, caused by the treatment) difficulties arising in a therapy could include a deterioration in the client’s day-to-day coping abilities, worsening or new mental health symptoms, or an intense and problematic attachment to the therapist known as an ‘Adverse Idealising Transference (AIT)’ (Devereux, 2016). Therapy difficulties such as these can be guarded against by the therapist maintaining proper professional boundaries, for instance ensuring any communications between sessions are appropriate and not excessive, and that self-disclosures should be helpful to the client.

Issues around AITs can sometimes be resolved in the therapy, they can however indicate a problem in the relationship which is unlikely to change and is likely to be causing harm. In this case it would be in the best interests of the client’s health to be referred to a different therapist.

If you are concerned about your therapy, or your relationship with your therapist is becoming problematic for you, it is important to try and discuss this with your therapist, and/or get independent advice.

What if I have a query, concern, comment or complaint?

I actively encourage clients to give me feedback about the work we are doing and the service I am providing. Please let me know if you have any queries or concerns, so we can consider the issue together with the aim of resolving it to your satisfaction.  I abide by the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions – for more information about this and about professional conduct and the organisation’s complaints procedure see: www.bacp.co.uk/prof_conduct/