Not at all. Many people come to therapy because they want a better understanding of themselves, are facing a period of change, or have noticed patterns in their lives or relationships that they would like to explore. You don’t need to have all the answers before you begin. Sometimes simply having the space to reflect can be the first step towards new possibilities.

After receiving your message, I will aim to contact you within 1-2 working days to arrange a free 20 minute introductory call.

This conversation gives us an opportunity to talk about what brings you to therapy, what you would be hoping for in our work together, and to see if we’re a good fit. If we decide to work together, we will arrange a weekly session at a mutually convenient time either in person or online.

Sessions last 50 minutes and take place once a week at the same time each week.

Meeting weekly helps us build a trusting therapeutic relationship and provides a consistent space for reflection and exploration.

I offer therapy either:

In-person from my practice room in Tunbridge Wells; or

Online via Zoom or Teams.

We’ll usually agree at the outset whether we’re working together online or in-person and keep to that arrangement.

If you need to change occasionally, I’m happy to discuss this where possible, although I ask for reasonable notice as room bookings and availability need to be managed.

I only work with people over the age of 18.

I have experience working with young adults and the parents of young people who are experiencing difficult times.

Confidentiality is fundamental to counselling and psychotherapy. I aim to create a safe space where you can speak freely.

There is, however, a small number of situations where confidentiality may need to be broken. These include:

• if I believe there is a serious and immediate risk of harm to you or someone else

• if I am required to disclose information by law or a court order

• where there are safeguarding concerns involving a child or vulnerable adult

• if information relates to terrorism, money laundering or other legal obligations placed upon therapists.

I also attend clinical supervision. Supervision is an essential part of ethical practice and helps ensure I am working safely and effectively. When I discuss my work with my supervisor, your identity is protected and information is shared anonymously.

If I ever needed to share information in one of these sorts of circumstances, I would aim wherever possible to discuss this with you first.

I take your privacy seriously and handle all personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller and comply with my legal responsibilities for handling personal information.

Any personal information and brief clinical notes are stored securely. I only keep information that is necessary for providing therapy and meeting my professional and legal responsibilities.

Further detail can be found in my privacy notice.

Some people come with a particular issue they would like to work through over a relatively short period, while others choose longer-term psychotherapy to explore deeper patterns and support lasting change.

We’ll regularly review how the work is progressing and make decisions together about continuing or ending therapy.

I usually recommend committing to at least six sessions. This gives us time to build a therapeutic relationship, develop an understanding of what has brought you to therapy and begin to explore your experiences together.

Before our sixth session, we’ll review how the therapy is feeling and whether we’d like to continue working together. Some people find that a shorter period of therapy meets their needs, while others choose to work together over a longer period to explore deeper or more longstanding patterns.

Ending well is an important part of the therapeutic process, giving us space to reflect on the work we’ve done and bring our sessions to a thoughtful close. When the time comes to end therapy, we will agree together a period for this that reflects the length of time we’ve been working together.

Sessions are charged at £70 per 50-minute session.

Payment is due by bank transfer on or before the day of your appointment.

Although I do understand that life emergencies can exceptionally arise, I have a firm cancellation policy (set out in our contract) which aligns with my practice rooms’ cancellation policy. It also safeguards time that could otherwise be offered to others who need it. We can discuss this in our introductory call.

The terms counselling and psychotherapy are often used interchangeably, and both involve talking with a trained professional in a safe and confidential space.

Counselling is often associated with working through a specific issue over a shorter period of time, whereas psychotherapy may involve a deeper exploration of long-standing patterns, relationships and life experiences. In practice, there is considerable overlap.

No. I currently just work with individual adults over 18 years old.