Frequently Asked Questions

Counselling is a process where you can discuss anything you want to with your counsellor, with the aim of improving how you feel about yourself or a situation you are in and helping you feel more in control. I will listen to you without judgement and will not tell you what you need to do but will offer you warmth and respect and allow you to explore your issues at your own pace to gain a deeper understanding of what you are going through. I aim to support you in making your own decisions and in building trust, confidence and care for yourself.   

CBT stands for cognitive behavioural therapy, and focuses on understanding the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and challenging areas that are problematic. It can be effective in treating specific issues such as anxiety disorders or depression, but the techniques can also be useful for incorporating into counselling to add a more tool-focused element to the work. 

Techniques and practical exercises are used to break down your reaction to problematic situations, identifying what you think, how that makes you feel, and how this influences your behaviour. Once the cycle has been broken down, the therapy can support you trying out different behaviours or thoughts and reviewing how this impacts the rest of the cycle. Over time the aim is to help you understand yourself better and to reduce overwhelming feelings and reactions. 

All counsellors and therapists must see a supervisor as part of taking on clients. A supervisor is also a counsellor, who has received specific training in supervision and who is also bound by the same regulations around confidentiality. 

Supervision is a space for therapists and counsellors to speak about their work, their clients, and any areas where they feel extra support is needed, essentially like a line manager in other workplaces. Supervision is not counsellor for the therapist as the focus is solely on their work with their clients and not on themselves as individuals. It allows them to check they are working within regulations, that they are offering the best service to their clients, and to receive support if there are improvements that could make in their service. 

There is no specific time frame on therapy, the number of sessions you have very much depend on you and what you are looking for. You are not required to commit to a specific number of sessions with me, and we can regularly review the therapy to ensure we are working effectively for you and can agree on an ending when this feels right for you.