Taking the first steps in reaching out takes courage, sometimes making the first call or sending the initial email can feel like the biggest step. I aim to put you at ease as we begin this process, and I thought it may be helpful to give you an idea about what therapy with me could like.

Initial inquiry

This is where you contact me to let me know you are interested in therapy; you may have looked at my bio or my website and already be getting a sense of My approach. At this early stage, when I acknowledge your message, I will let you know my availability for session times and Locations and fees and offer you a Discovery Call.

Discovery Call

The Discovery Call is a thirty-minute free of charge Zoom call. It is an opportunity for us to check our locations and timings align, and then if they do, to learn a little more about my approach to therapy and for you to briefly outline the reasons that you are seeking support. Although it will only be a short call, there will also be time for you to ask me any questions that you may have. If you like what you hear and think we may be a good fit, we can book in a Therapy Assessment.

The Therapy Assessment Session

The Therapy Assessment can take place either in person, or online and will last for up to 90-minutes. The cost of this session can be found here.

The Therapy Assessment session is a space for us to have a more in-depth conversation, as we gently explore some of your history, difficulties, strengths and hoped for outcomes. As my practice includes Somatic Experiencing® it will be important for us to go into a little more depth than you might in other modalities, this could include past accidents, events, early life experiences, surgeries, medications, and physical symptoms, we will take things gently and take breaks if needed. SE is a powerful modality, and as we begin our work together this foundational information will help guide me to provide a safe space for you.

The first session

If you decide you would like to begin therapy with me, we will arrange a start date. At the beginning of our first session, we will take some time to discuss and sign the Therapy alliance and consent form, this is our contract to begin our work together. I will send a copy to you ahead of time should you wish to read it before our session.

The first 6 sessions

In my experience six weeks is a good amount of time to decide if we can form a trusted therapeutic relationship together. It will also give you the opportunity to work with the art materials and/or to experience SE, and to give you a good idea to see if these modalities feel best suited to you. If during this time you decide therapy with me is not for you, I will be happy for us to think together about your next steps, possibly signpost you to other therapists or resources, and bring our work together to a close.

Further sessions

If after 6-weeks you feel comfortable in using the art materials and/or SE we can continue on an ongoing basis, with regular reviews to ensure that the sessions and the space continue to meet your needs.  

Examples of a session

As I am trained in both Art Psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing® what happens in a session is very much unique to each person. I have written Therapy stories to help demystify what a session could like. These stories are an amalgamation of my observations with different clients, they do not reflect any one client in particular, and serve only to help give a general sense of a session.

Working towards an Ending

It maybe we are working to a specified number of sessions or on an on-going basis but holding the ending in mind is always important. For some, endings can feel difficult, but in a good therapeutic relationship it can also be an opportunity to experience a different type of ending, where a mixture of emotions can be felt, validated, and held. Often this can be our first experience of a ‘good’ ending.

We can plan on how and when we will say goodbye to each other, as well as notice the differences and the progress you have made to help integrate your experiences and learning in therapy. It may be that you feel there is more work to be done, and we can reflect on whether there are next steps you may want to take.

Ending Session

This is our opportunity to put into practice what we have planned together. As a moment to acknowledge all you have achieved, to say goodbye to our work, to your artwork (if necessary) and to say goodbye to each other.