ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPY?
Psychology is about helping you to identify the causes of problems or 'stuck' feelings or situations in your life, and to develop new ways of doing, thinking and feeling. It is more than just talking- therapy is active and can involve work between sessions as well as during sessions. Psychologists don't prescribe medication, although therapy can be done alongside medications if these are prescribed by your doctor.
Psychologists use evidence-based therapies to help you identify and work towards your goals. What therapy would specifically 'look like' for you depends on what the problem is, what you would like to do from here, and what 'style' fits best with you.
IS MY INFORMATION CONFIDENTIAL?
It can be hard to reach out and ‘open up’, and to talk about feelings, risky behaviour or taboo topics. Your privacy is important to me, and I want to make it as easy as possible to talk.
I keep your information confidential, in line with my ethical and legal obligations. That means that there are only a few situations in which I might share your information with someone else. These are: if you or someone else is in danger, if you ask me to share the information, if I am compelled to by law (for example if the information is requested by a court of law), or if I am discussing my work with my clinical supervisor (who is also bound by the same ethical and legal obligations).
WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN A FIRST APPOINTMENT?
I want to get you started in the right direction as early as possible. I will start by asking a bit about you, the problem or problems you are ‘stuck’ with, and your goals for therapy or assessment. I will also ask you about what you have tried and what you think might help from here. It can help to think these through before you come in so we can make the most of the appointment time.
The first appointment can be a good chance for you to find out a bit about how I work and see whether I am a good match for what you are looking for.
We might also try out a new skill or exercise for you to start practising.
HOW LONG DOES THERAPY LAST?
Therapy is about actively making changes to work towards specific goals.
How long it will take to reach your goals depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to: how much time and effort you can put in to solving the problem or ‘stuckness’, what life situations and other factors are influencing it, how ready you are to try new things or consider new ideas, how big or ‘stuck’ the problem is, and what you are keen to do in or between sessions.
WHAT IF I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE ISSUE IS OR WHAT I NEED?
Problems can be complicated!
We can talk through what you're going through and work out the best 'next steps'. If you have some ideas about what has or hasn't helped in the past, or what will help in the future, great! If not, we can work it out together, and I can make some starting suggestions.
WHAT WILL I NEED TO DO BETWEEN APPOINTMENTS?
That depends on what you are working on in therapy. Sometimes I will suggest exercises or new skills to practice, while at other times it might be more about thinking through an idea, gathering information or putting some self-care in to practice.
The more you put in to your journey, the further you are likely to get!
We can work together to identify what might be helpful between sessions.