What to expect in Psychological Therapy

Initial telephone consultation (free)

Contact me to arrange a brief telephone call where we can talk about the problems you are seeking help for and whether I am the right person to help you at this time.

Assessment

If you decide to proceed with psychological therapy we will start with an assessment. At your first appointment I will ask you some questions about what has brought you to therapy; the challenges you are experiencing and what you would like to be different (your goals for therapy). I may ask you to complete some questionnaires, which not only help me to complete my assessment but also help us to keep track of progress and monitor change.

Formulation

We will work together to put the information that you share into a psychological formulation, using an appropriate model of psychotherapy. This formulation will help us to identify things like when your problems began (triggers), why the problems might have started (existing vulnerabilities) and what might be keeping the problems going (maintaining factors). With this information we can then think about what the therapy interventions should include. I want my clients to be involved at every step of contributing to this formulation and treatment plan, as it is there to guide us both through the therapy process and therefore ultimately needs to be shared and understood by both parties.

Therapy

The therapy work will continue over a number of sessions.

Psychological therapy is a collaborative process and requires active engagement from both parties. Working through painful thoughts and experiencing complex feelings can be difficult, but I will be alongside you for the whole journey.

Depending on the type of therapy approach we might also use different interventions such as imagery exercises and exposure work as part of the therapy work. Find out more about what it is like to work with me by reading about client’s experiences, here.