A psychologist is a professional trained to provide psychological interventions to help people update the way they are handling situations. This includes developing clients’ quality of life and replace unhelpful behaviors with more adaptive ones. This is primarily done by using talking therapies. If need be, your psychologist would refer you to another professional to access additional treatment i.e. stress relieving medication. 

A psychiatrist is a medically trained professional, who views distress using a medical frame of understanding. They prescribe medical treatments to address one’s difficulties. 

Research argues that the combination of  receiving therapy from both professionals achieves maximum benefits. This is especially true for clients who could benefit from such medication.

You possess coping skills which helped you deal with difficulties in the past. However, at times these are not suitable in helping us cope with new situations arising in our lives. Such coping skills might include individualistic elements like  exploring and problem solving by writing in journals, drawing, exercising etc or accessing help from your existing social circles i.e. close others; family; friends; spiritual support etc. 

If you are experiencing difficulties which are not effectively tackled by using your existing coping skills, then engaging in psychological therapy might be beneficial. 

Difficulties might include and are not limited to difficulties with stress management, low mood, isolation, anger, chronic pain, and sleep difficulties. 

If you find yourself debating your choices and not being able to make up your mind; if you need help dealing with transitions (the personal element of change); if you are unsure of how to promote your personal development, or if you feel that you need to be listened to and understood, then engaging in therapy can prove helpful. 

The process of accessing psychological services is simple. Get in touch for a free and confidential 15-minute chat. You can ask for more information, take as much time as you need to decide and get back to me. We will be booking a session at a time that suits you, to discuss your needs and expectations of therapy during our first appointment and take it from there.

An initial appointment will be booked to go over what you hope to gain by starting therapy. This will act as a two-sided assessment of our potential cooperation. During this time, you can share information regarding what creates difficulties for you; ask me any questions you might have regarding working together, and check whether you feel I am the right fit for you.
If you are feeling unsure of what exactly you will be sharing with me, what is relevant, what is not and need some clarifications I can guide you with a series of questions. On a general note though, there is no irrelevant comments.
Following this appointment, if we are both happy to continue our cooperation we can go ahead and book your subsequent appointments.
However, you need to know that there are no obligations to book in more sessions. If you feel that we are not a good fit, then you can opt to end contact. Additionally, if you prefer exploring your options I can recommend other avenues of accessing help for yourself or your loved ones.

Depending on the service that matches your needs, fees are charged per session. Reduced prices are offered for students, booking 4 sessions in advance and prepaying clients. A portion of my diary is reserved for people with socio-economic difficulties, where special payment arrangements can be made. 

The length of therapy depends on:

1. The nature of the difficulty and
2. The work that goes on behind the scenes and in between sessions.

I prepare for our sessions by researching, reading and reflecting on potential ways forward. Progress depends on the work that we both put into this process. For information on what you can do, see Principles of working.

Therapy which concentrates on learning specific skills in order to cope with stress, or dealing with anger can be done in approximately 8-12 sessions. Therapy which concentrates on understanding why you relate in “x” way and not “y” way with your loved one, includes more components and will take a bit more time. The choice of ending therapy is yours, and this will often be explored in our work.

As a therapist and coach I view ending therapy as signifying your progress. I am equally invested in ending our cooperation, not because I no longer want to work with you, but because it highlights your achievements. Ending therapy, is something that we will often explore in our work together. Have you planned an ending before? This is what we do together.

 Part of our work together is holding a record of work and movement in a direction, which we will use to track change. I keep a short record of each of our session, so we will have information to check that therapy is working for you. This is helped by doing a therapy review every 4 sessions, where we both discuss what has been working so far, what needs adjustment and whether you are ready to end therapy.