Therapy is a way of meeting and understanding the challenges that we all face in life at times. It is easy to get caught up and lost in our anxieties, and the process of speaking to another person about what we are experiencing can help to restore a sense of identity, purpose, and confidence to take back into the world.

Person centred therapy is about putting the client at the very centre of the therapeutic process. It is rooted in the idea that we all have the capacity to heal and orient ourselves deep within, and therapy can help us to access this. The main originator of person centred therapy, Carl Rogers, wrote: “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change”.

CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. CBT is about looking at the way we behave, noticing patterns, and then thinking about ways to challenge and change that behaviour.

Psychodynamic therapy is rooted in the idea that our lives are shaped by unconscious influences, some of which are formed in our earliest experiences. In therapy, we try to bring these unconscious influences into conscious awareness, and in so doing, understand ourselves better and bring about the change and growth we are looking for. One of the pioneers of psychodynamic therapy, Carl Jung, said “until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate”.

I don’t specify a number of sessions. Sometimes you can get what you are looking for from counselling relatively quickly, It can also be the case that issues emerge that need more attention and it is important to give them the time they demand.

This is a very important question. Effective therapy is often difficult and challenging, and you can expect to feel rather worse before you feel better. One reason for this is that therapy is an arena in which some of our anxieties and fears are allowed out so that we can see them for what they are - this is part of the process of taking control over them. So, while you might feel that therapy is difficult and painful , this can be an indication that you are really doing the work. It is also key to effective therapy that you find the right person to do it with. I do regular reviews with my clients to check that they are getting what they want from therapy. While we have a working agreement between us, there is no obligation, contractual or financial, to stay longer than is helpful.

The BACP is the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapists. It is the professional body to which I belong, as an accredited member.

As a member of the BACP I abide by its ethical framework - this is a guide to what you can expect from your counsellor. I do regular reviews of our sessions together to ensure that you are getting what you need from the experience.

Online therapy has become a popular option in recent years, and now sits alongside the more traditional model of two people sitting together in a room. Effective online therapy replicates this model, so we would meet at the same time each week. It is important as a client that you are sitting somewhere quiet, comfortable, and confidential.

Therapy is almost always confidential, between therapist and client. There are exceptions to this - if a client says something that indicates that they are at risk or somebody close to them is at risk, then I may have a legal responsibility to share this information.