FAQs

Person-Centred is all about the relationship held between counsellor and client. Its rooted in the practice of listening to another without any indication of shame or judgement, reflecting back what is being picked up and asking appropriate questions to learn and understand the bigger and wider picture of your story and how you feel within it. Person-centred encourages you to be as you are, the most authentic and vulnerable self as you are held with warmth and compassion. Through the skilful yet simple use of person-centred, it has the ability to help you figure out what you want, need and where you’re able to get it. Person-centred is client-lead, which means you are always in the drivers seat, showing me the ‘sights’ if you will.

Cognitive-Behavioural looks at the link between thought, feeling and ‘behaviour’ where difficulties arise. Cognitive-behavioural is a widely known therapy, often offered in the NHS. As cognitive-behavioural considers goal setting, education and some gentle challenging, it has proven helpful in regards to a coaching perspective.

Psychodynamic looks at our past, all the way back to childhood and the memories which we have suppressed. To put it simply, psychodynamic looks at how our memories and past experiences hold relation to our ‘present’ self – the who we are today (aka, our dynamic and how we connect with people, places and objects). It also considers the various parts of ourselves and how they play a role in our daily functioning to ensure we are safe and well. Sometimes, our memories can act out with little to no awareness of them. Through figuring this out together, we can take control and manage them. It is important to understand that what has happened to us cannot be fixed, as they play a significant part in our personality make-up, however we can learn to identify them and take control when these ‘triggers’ rear their heads.

Therapeutic Coaching bases on a relationship than a dictatorship. It makes use of goals, usually set within the relationship or by yourself. Therapeutic coaching embraces what has happened and what is happening, helping you to help you grow and move forward. Therapeutic coaching is non-clinical and informal. Also, it is good to understand who is helping you than the tools that they use to help you. I am not your typical counsellor or coach, as I believe in authenticity and sense of freedom when working towards anything in your life.
Expect a practitioner who is quirky, likes to bring in a sense of humour towards things, changes his haircut and colour often, appreciates all platforms of art, will swear if you swear (to grasp how you feel) and will offer advice and suggestions than leave you floundering.

This is hard to answer, as understandably people are complex and it is unfair to make promises that, often, cannot be kept within a therapeutic environment (unethical). I would say that a consultation is key to find out whether you feel I/this would help you, as only you can truly know and decide on what you need. I can offer my insights and suggestions, however you are the one that chooses whether I am a good fit for you. I’d always encourage to ‘shop around’ first before committing.

Your first session really is more of an expanded ‘get to know’. This is where we begin building some understanding of what it is you want out of our time together, further exploring who you are, what you like, dislike and so forth. I believe trust is fundamental for any change or progress to occur, so without this we would be doing a disservice to you and what you deserve in your time of need.

Absolutely, within reason. Before we properly meet, I send a contract outlining what I can and cannot do, including the inability to withhold any information that is a concern of safety towards you and/or others. The bottom line is that I have a duty of care towards you and your safety, not only your emotional wellbeing. It is actually unlawful to not share need-to-know information to the appropriate people and services that can further support your difficulties. I also take notes from our sessions as a means of noting progress, which we review as we go along. These notes are secured away and password protected (unless, as stated above, any safety concerns arise which are then shared with the most appropriate services).

I use a platform called doxy.me, which aligns with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). You will receive a link via email to my platform where you type your name in and wait for me to allow you in. You do not need to sign up or purchase anything to access this platform and you can also re-use the link when you are due your session. I will inform you when our time is coming to a close, so that we can safely end and ensure you are OK to leave. So, the only difference from being in-person, is that we are on a video call. I would strongly recommend that you check your internet connection is strong and you are in a space that is private and feels comfortable for you to be in.

If you are more than 15 minutes late and you have not informed me of your lateness prior to the 15 minutes, I will end the call and we will need to re-arrange.

Very similar to our online sessions, however I will phone you at a time that suits you (which is agreed prior to the session). I will attempt to call you 3 times and, should you be unavailable or late without notifying me in advance, we will need to re-arrange.

Similar to online and telephone sessions, we will agree a time suitable for your session. Doxy.me, the platform that I use for online sessions, also offers a text chat space where we can talk. You can turn your mic and camera off, as I will do the same. Doxy.me can be accessed through your phone as well as your laptop, tablet and/or PC.

My background is within children and young people, spending most of my career in this setting. I also DBS checked. If your child is within 12-18 years old, I would firstly encourage a consultation with you before meeting your child, to discuss your child’s needs and any questions you would like or need to ask. This is to build rapport and a sense of trust, outlining boundaries and exceptions to the work with your child. It is important that your child also consents to seeing me, as we cannot force young people into support for various reasons. While your child will be the centre of our work together, a majority of what we work on will be kept confidential unless I feel there is information that requires your attention. Should this happen, I would be discussing this with your child to maintain a clear, caring and trusting relationship before informing you.
If your child is 18+, this would be respected as your child being an adult so are respected to make their own decisions. However, if they are 18+ and there is anything that requires more involvement from your side as their parent, this can be discussed.

Your personal data is stored on my laptop which only I have access to, which is locked upon access. Should there be a time where my laptop has been accessed, any personal information that I hold on you is password protected. Any notes that are taken from our sessions are kept anonymised and brief to avoid identifying you.

No. You take as many or as little as you feel you need. We can agree to set a number or have it open-ended, depending on what you want and what you need which we can discuss. I am also flexible with weekly, 2 weekly or monthly sessions, all dependant on what works for you. Life happens which means our circumstances and our needs change. If we have agreed to, for example, 6 sessions and you are no longer able to commit for various (and valid) reasons, we can discuss options.