Frequently Asked Questions
What can I expect to get out of therapy?

Distressing emotions, such as anxiety, anger and low mood, are part of the human condition and which we will all feel at different intensities and at different times throughout our lives. Therapy does not cure or get rid of these emotions but is aimed at helping you to manage them in a way which will allow you to start enjoying your life again.

You might choose to work towards a specific goal, for example, if you are struggling with social anxiety your goal might be to attend a forthcoming social event, better able to manage the thoughts, feelings and unhelpful safety behaviours which have previously led you to avoid similar situations

What will be expected of me?
Therapy is a collaborative process where the client and I work together as a team to explore the problem in hand. Strategies are discussed and practised in session ahead of asking the client to ‘give these a go’ outside therapy.

Think of it like visiting a physiotherapist…… there is only so much that can be achieved in session. The real benefits come from using those exercises you have learned to affect positive change in life outside the consulting room. There is no success or failure element to this work. Whatever happens can be learned from.

I might ask you invite a relative, partner or carer to attend a session to allow them to help understand your issues and explain how they can best support you. This is particularly the case with younger clients where it is usually appropriate for parents or other family members to attend a part or all of each session.

How many sessions will I need?

This will vary from client to client depending on the presenting problem. All sessions are 50 minutes long and are usually weekly. After an initial session I will aim to provide a guideline as to what might be expected in terms of number of sessions moving forwards. This is then reviewed on a regular basis.

Are therapy sessions face-to-face or online?

I offer both face-to-face and ‘online’ therapy. All face-to-face therapy is undertaken in my consulting room in Sale, details of which can be found on the Contact page. Remote therapy is delivered by Skype, Zoom, FaceTime or WhatsApp, depending on the client’s preference.

What COVID guidelines do you have in place?

For the time being, all clients are being asked to wear masks in communal areas, unless medically exempt, and to hand sanitise when on arrival. Masks are not required in the therapy room but this is a personal choice for the client. The consulting rooms are cleaned on a daily basis and surfaces in the therapy room wiped down between sessions.

I take lateral flow tests one or two days before every session. In the event of either myself or a client having to self-isolate there remains the option to continue therapy remotely.

Jigsaw
How will I know if therapy has benefited me?
This is an interesting question. It is not always easy to stand back at the end of therapy and reflect on everything you have achieved. However, we do want the benefits of your therapy to be measurable and for you to recognise for yourself the positive results. With this in mind, we adopt two strategies.

The first is to ensure therapy is driven by a specific goal the client wants to achieve, for example: “To learn coping strategies that will help me manage future stressful life events.”

An excellent goal, but a difficult one to measure. At the outset of therapy, the client will be helped to make this goal more specific and measurable. What would this goal mean for you? How would you know that you have achieved this goal? Having explored the responses to these and other questions, we are able to draw up a more specific goal, for example: “To attend my daughter’s wedding in March without getting upset at others beforehand and feeling stressed and irritable on the day.”

The second approach to measuring the success of therapy is to use recognised assessments and questionnaires which measure the client’s anxiety, depression and other mood states at the outset, during and at the end of therapy.

Do I need to be referred by my GP?
No, you can contact me directly for a chat or to arrange an appointment.

How Can Therapy Help You?

Please call or email for an informal chat on how therapy might benefit you.