1. This might sound silly to you, but…
Many people come into therapy and worry that the therapist might think that their problems are insignificant. If it’s important to you, then it’s certainly important to me, no matter what it is that’s worrying you.

2. I’m struggling to sleep and find it hard to concentrate at work. Will counselling help me?
My advice would be firstly to speak to your GP as there may be underlying medical reasons for your symptoms. However, counselling can certainly help to explore what might be going on for you emotionally – worries and anxiety can also affect your sleep patterns and concentration.

3. Can counselling help my relationship / marriage?
Counselling is a way of exploring how we get on with other people, especially those who are closest to us. It isn’t a quick fix for difficult relationships, but it helps us to understand what’s going on between people and gives us different ways to change things.

4. How can a counsellor help my child?
Counselling can help children in two ways: Firstly, by working directly with the child to identify specific problems, either school or home based. Secondly, by working with the parent(s) to explore their attitudes and expectations, and provide behaviour management techniques.

5. I’m not sure what I want counselling for. Is it still ok to come?
Many people coming to counselling for the first time are unsure about how they feel. The start of the counselling process involves identifying where problems lie and what might be done about them.

6. How long does counselling take?
The length of time people see their counsellor varies greatly according to their personal needs. For example, some people may just need a few sessions to help them deal with an immediate concern. Others may choose to work long term to fully explore the root causes of their issues.

7. How much does psychotherapy cost?
The cost of counselling and therapy depends on your circumstances and the length of time you see me (see question 6). Click here to view the fees.

8. Is there any homework involved?
A lot of people ask this question. Although most of the homework will simply involve thinking about the things we’ve talked about in your session, on occasion clients may be given short exercises to carry out between sessions but these are not compulsory.