About counselling
Is counselling right for you?
It is completely natural to feel apprehensive about beginning counselling. It may mean stepping outside your comfort zone or looking at things you’ve avoided or pushed down for a long time.
Counselling can involve vulnerability, and opening up may feel daunting. Because trust takes time to build, you decide what you’re ready to talk about and when. Everything we discuss in counselling is held in strict confidence, within professional and legal limits.
You don’t need a diagnosis or a crisis to seek counselling. If something feels unresolved, too much to carry on your own, or you’d simply like some support, that’s reason enough.
Willingness is the first step towards change.
What counselling offers
How counselling can help
Life’s challenges can sometimes feel overwhelming. Speaking with someone separate from your daily life—who brings both empathy and clinical experience—can help you process your thoughts and see things from a different perspective.
Counselling is not a quick fix or a magic solution, and it cannot change your circumstances. It can, however, help you develop more helpful ways of coping, approach difficulties differently and make changes that allow life to feel more manageable. Whether you’re dealing with everyday problems or significant life challenges, counselling can support you as you work through what is happening.
Counselling can help you:
- Recognise unhelpful patterns that may be keeping you stuck
- Learn practical tools to manage stress and navigate difficult emotions
- Build self-esteem, self-compassion and emotional resilience
- Process past hurt or trauma in a safe and validating environment
- Improve communication and establish healthier personal boundaries
- Gain personal insight to better understand yourself, your values and the choices that feel right for you
- Navigate life transitions, grief and major change with greater clarity
- Support your overall wellbeing and develop healthier ways of coping
Practical information
Appointments and sessions
I offer in-person, online and telephone appointments. Where possible, I prefer to meet in person for the initial session before moving to telephone appointments. Sessions are for one hour, and no referral is required.
My hours are flexible and appointments are available most evenings and weekends as well as some days. We can discuss a day and time that works for you when you get in touch. If you’d like to talk through how counselling might work for you before booking, you’re welcome to call and ask—I’m happy to answer questions over the phone first.
To arrange an appointment, simply call or email me. If I’m unavailable, I generally respond within 48 hours.
Your first session
What to expect at your first appointment
Your initial session is simply an opportunity for us to get to know each other and see if we are a good fit. There is no pressure to talk about everything in the first session. You can share as much or as little as feels comfortable.
During our first meeting, we will:
- Discuss how counselling worksI will explain confidentiality, how sessions are structured, and how we can get the most out of our time together.
- Address your questionsI’ll listen to any concerns you might have about the process and answer any practical or therapeutic questions.
- Explore what brought you hereWe can begin talking about your current challenges and what you hope to achieve through counselling.
Above all, this first appointment is a safe, relaxed space for you to ask questions, catch your breath, and decide how you’d like to move forward.
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