Question 1

Do I need to know exactly what I want to talk about?

Accepted Answer

No. You might come with something very specific, or simply with a sense that something in your life, relationships or yourself does not feel quite right.You do not need to arrive with the right words or a clear explanation. We can begin with whatever feels most present and become curious about where it takes us.

Question 2

What happens in the first psychotherapy session?

Accepted Answer

The first session gives us time to talk about what has brought you to therapy, what you have been experiencing and what you might want from the work.There is no assessment you need to pass and no expectation that you tell me everything immediately. It is also an opportunity for you to experience how I work and decide whether the relationship feels right for you.

Question 3

How often would we meet?

Accepted Answer

I usually recommend meeting once a week at the same time where possible.Having a regular appointment gives the work continuity, creates a dependable space in both our diaries and removes the repeated friction of arranging a new time every week.I also understand that work, family and other commitments do not always make a fixed weekly appointment possible, so there can be flexibility where needed.

Question 4

Do I have to commit to ongoing therapy?

Accepted Answer

No, but I think it is important to be honest that the deeper benefits of therapy usually develop through regular, ongoing work rather than a single session.A single session can still be useful, particularly if you want to experience therapy, get a feel for me as a therapist or explore something specific.Therapy often involves processes that need time and space to develop. Sometimes a change is taking place before you consciously recognise it, and being able to return to therapy and explore what you are beginning to notice can itself become an important part of the work.For that reason, I encourage people to give therapy a genuine chance rather than expecting one conversation to do everything.

Question 5

How long would I need to be in therapy?

Accepted Answer

There is no fixed length, but it can help to have a rough idea.If you are coming with something fairly specific — perhaps a recent difficulty, a relationship issue, a decision, or something you need space to talk through — around 4–6 sessions can sometimes be enough to make a meaningful difference.For some people, that is all they need. For others, those first few sessions begin to reveal something deeper: recurring patterns, older experiences, questions about identity, relationships or why certain things affect them in the way they do. In that case, eight sessions or more is common, and the work may continue for many months or longer.It is also not unusual for people to remain in therapy for years. That does not mean they are especially unwell or that therapy has somehow failed. For some people, therapy becomes a regular reflective space that runs alongside life. New experiences, relationships, losses, changes and difficulties continue to arise, while older patterns can also keep unfolding and being understood in new ways.Therapeutic growth is not always something that happens in a neat sequence and then finishes. Sometimes changes are taking place gradually, or outside conscious awareness, and only become noticeable later.I would not expect you to decide at the beginning how long you should stay. We can start with what brings you to therapy, see what develops, and periodically reflect together on whether the work continues to feel useful and worthwhile.

Question 6

What if I don’t know what to say?

Accepted Answer

That is completely fine.Silence, uncertainty, not knowing where to begin, changing the subject or finding something difficult to put into words can all be part of therapy.My role is not to wait for you to perform therapy correctly. We can work with whatever is happening between us, including not knowing what to say.

Question 7

Will you tell me what I should do?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes, yes — but not always.Different people work well in different ways. Some clients like a more active approach and find it helpful to have exercises, ideas, experiments or something practical to work on between sessions. Others get much more from having a space where they can talk freely, follow what comes up and let the work develop without homework or particular tasks.I tend to work somewhere in the middle. I may offer suggestions, exercises or more direct guidance when that seems useful, but I do not want therapy to become a programme you have to complete.We can work in the way that best fits you, the issue you are bringing and what seems to help the process move forward.

Question 8

What kind of psychotherapy do you offer?

Accepted Answer

My approach is integrative, with a psychodynamic and relational framework at its centre.For me, being integrative does not mean moving from one therapy technique to another depending on what happens to sound useful that week. I think therapy needs a coherent framework. You bring the experiences, concerns and questions that matter to you, and you have a large part in determining the pace and direction of the work; my role is to hold a therapeutic way of understanding and working with what emerges.That often means being interested in how your history, relationships, patterns, defences and ways of understanding yourself may be influencing life in the present. Where something more practical would be useful, I may also introduce exercises, observations or other ways of working, but these sit within the wider therapeutic process rather than replacing it with a succession of tips and techniques.I also pay attention to some fairly ordinary foundations of wellbeing: sleep and rest, food, movement, relationships, work, interests and other meaningful ways of engaging with life. These are not solutions to every psychological difficulty, but they are part of the context in which our lives are lived. Looking at how these areas are functioning can tell us quite a lot about how you are doing, what may be missing and where change might be possible.So although the therapy is shaped around you, it is not without structure. You bring the life we are trying to understand; I bring a framework for helping us explore it.

Question 9

What kind of psychotherapy do you offer?

Accepted Answer

My approach is integrative, with a psychodynamic, developmental and relational framework at its centre.In practice, that means I am interested not only in what is happening for you now, but also in how your history, relationships, emotional patterns and ways of protecting yourself may be shaping your present experience.I usually begin from the position that the ways we think, feel, relate and respond have developed for reasons that once made sense in the context of our lives. Rather than rushing to change something, I want us to understand it first. That can reduce shame, make patterns feel less random or fixed, and give us a clearer sense of what may actually need to change.I work collaboratively. You bring the experiences, concerns and questions that matter to you, and you have a large part in determining the pace and direction of the therapy. My role is to provide a coherent therapeutic framework within which we can make sense of what emerges, notice connections and explore how different parts of your experience fit together.The therapeutic relationship is also part of the work. Therapy is not simply a place where you tell me information and I give you advice. The way we relate, what feels easy or difficult to say, what you expect from me, what you avoid, and what happens between us can all become useful information about how you experience relationships more generally.My approach is integrative, but not in the sense of moving randomly from one technique to another. I may draw on person-centred principles, parts-based ways of understanding experience, CBT-informed exercises, behavioural experiments or more practical interventions where they genuinely support the wider therapeutic work. Some clients benefit from structure, exercises and things to work on between sessions; others benefit more from having space to talk and allow the process to unfold. I tend to work somewhere between the two and adapt the level of structure to the person and the work.I also pay attention to the wider foundations on which life is being lived — sleep and rest, food, movement, relationships, work, interests, creativity and other forms of meaningful engagement. These are not simple solutions to psychological difficulties, but they are part of the context in which our emotional lives unfold and can tell us a great deal about how someone is doing.Over time, the work often moves through a process of understanding, making connections, experiencing things differently, integrating what has been learned and then responding differently in life. That process is rarely completely linear. Something may shift internally, you may begin to notice yourself reacting differently, and that new experience then becomes something we can explore together.The aim may be to reduce, resolve or change the symptoms, problems or patterns that are causing difficulty, while also helping you understand yourself more fully and develop greater freedom in how you respond.Sometimes the work is quite focused and practical. At other times, what begins as a particular problem opens into a deeper exploration of how you have learned to relate to yourself, other people and life more generally. In either case, the aim is not simply insight for its own sake, but meaningful change that helps you live with greater agency, flexibility and authenticity.

Question 10

Can I combine psychotherapy sessions with private messaging?

Accepted Answer

Yes.Some clients use live psychotherapy sessions alongside the monthly private messaging service. Writing can provide another space for reflection between sessions, while the live sessions give us time to explore things together in greater depth.If you use the messaging service, psychotherapy sessions are also available at the reduced subscriber rate.

What Makes it Happen

Psychotherapy

A place to start from where you are

Understanding what has shaped you

Understanding and change

What might we explore?

Ways we can work together in psychotherapy

Psychotherapy Session

60 minutes · £70 · Online via Zoom

Four-session booking

4 × 60 minutes · £260 total · £65 per session · Online via Zoom

Therapy through private messaging

£150 per month · Monday–Friday · Private Zoom messaging

Questions you might have

Please read before booking

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