About Counselling
What is Counselling?
Counselling is a talking therapy that can help you come to terms with problems, make changes in your life and explore your thoughts and feelings in depth, in a safe and confidential environment.
Counselling helps you make connections between your feelings and behaviours and your reactions to past and present situations, which can enable you to move forwards.
As a Counsellor, I will not tell you what to do or make decisions for you but through working together help you create changes and develop greater self-understanding.
Counselling is about making you independent of therapy, not dependent on it and by building on your strengths and inner resources, develop confidence in yourself and your future.
How does it differ from talking to friends and family?
Having a close friend you can confide in during times of difficulty is a vital part of our social network as is family care and support. Although such people maybe of central importance to us, it is not the same as talking to a professional.
A Counsellor is trained to listen openly without interruption. A friend is more likely to offer opinions and have their own agenda.
A Counsellor will offer you a set place and regular time and the attention will be focused on you. With a friend we tend to exchange stories and opinions.
Friends and family are unable to be objective as they are in a relationship with you and may know the people you wish to talk about.
A counsellor will not make any assumptions about you and judge you. You may anticipate how friends or family react and hold back in case you hear “I told you so.”
In counselling, you can talk about anything and express emotions without worrying that your counsellor will not be able to handle what you are saying. We may feel that family and friends need protection from being hurt and so keep certain feelings hidden.
Will I feel worse?
Counselling may involve talking about uncomfortable emotions and painful memories and bringing up these thoughts may be difficult to begin with. Talking about them will help you move forwards and with the support of your counsellor you should start to feel better.
How many sessions will I need?
This varies from individual to individual and depends on what you need from counselling. At your first session, we will discuss whether time limited therapy (a set number of sessions) or ongoing, open-ended therapy is best suited to you. Therapy is a process and there will always be opportunities to review our work as your needs may change as we work through your issues.
How much will it cost?
Individual Therapy
My rate is £62 per session (50 minutes).
Couples' Sessions
The initial assessment session for couples lasts 75 minutes and costs £90.
My standard rate is £80 (60 minutes) for all further sessions.
Counselling helps you make connections between your feelings and behaviours and your reactions to past and present situations, which can enable you to move forwards.
As a Counsellor, I will not tell you what to do or make decisions for you but through working together help you create changes and develop greater self-understanding.
Counselling is about making you independent of therapy, not dependent on it and by building on your strengths and inner resources, develop confidence in yourself and your future.
How does it differ from talking to friends and family?
Having a close friend you can confide in during times of difficulty is a vital part of our social network as is family care and support. Although such people maybe of central importance to us, it is not the same as talking to a professional.
A Counsellor is trained to listen openly without interruption. A friend is more likely to offer opinions and have their own agenda.
A Counsellor will offer you a set place and regular time and the attention will be focused on you. With a friend we tend to exchange stories and opinions.
Friends and family are unable to be objective as they are in a relationship with you and may know the people you wish to talk about.
A counsellor will not make any assumptions about you and judge you. You may anticipate how friends or family react and hold back in case you hear “I told you so.”
In counselling, you can talk about anything and express emotions without worrying that your counsellor will not be able to handle what you are saying. We may feel that family and friends need protection from being hurt and so keep certain feelings hidden.
Will I feel worse?
Counselling may involve talking about uncomfortable emotions and painful memories and bringing up these thoughts may be difficult to begin with. Talking about them will help you move forwards and with the support of your counsellor you should start to feel better.
How many sessions will I need?
This varies from individual to individual and depends on what you need from counselling. At your first session, we will discuss whether time limited therapy (a set number of sessions) or ongoing, open-ended therapy is best suited to you. Therapy is a process and there will always be opportunities to review our work as your needs may change as we work through your issues.
How much will it cost?
Individual Therapy
My rate is £62 per session (50 minutes).
Couples' Sessions
The initial assessment session for couples lasts 75 minutes and costs £90.
My standard rate is £80 (60 minutes) for all further sessions.
"Therapy is a different way of talking
and a different way of hearing"
Susie Orbach
and a different way of hearing"
Susie Orbach
