Frequently asked questions

  • People from all walks of life find therapy helpful. Therapy is a tool to enrich your life, resolve stuckness and recover mental ill-health. It is a personal, emotional journey that only you know whether you want to take. Fundamentally, therapy is for everyone brave enough to make the journey.

  • We will spend some time discussing what has brought you to therapy and what a good outcome would look like to you. We will have time to get to know each other and make a mutual assessment of whether or not we are a good ‘fit’ therapeutically. In the rare event that I am unable to assist you, I will refer you on to another competent practitioner; but most of the time I am able to provide a competent therapeutic service to meet your needs. We will have a brief time to discuss our contract in terms of time, place and money, but the majority of the time will be given over to me understanding what brings you and giving you an experience of how I might start to work with it. 

  • No. I am well trained to work with individuals with a variety of mental health needs, from those who are simply struggling with aspects of day to day life all the way through to those who are under the care of the NHS mental health system. I am able to adapt therapy appropriately for neurodiverse clients and for those with more severe mental ill-health presentations. 

  • No. I am signed up to the UKCP code of ethics, which holds confidentiality as a key aspect of therapy. The only circumstances where I may breach confidentiality are in circumstances where there is significant risk to self or others, and as far as possible, we will discuss this as it arises so that you remain in control at all times.

  • Some individuals only come for a handful of sessions, whilst others stay for many years and others jump in and out of therapy as the need arises. Most clients stay for a period of months whilst they resolve the struggles that they arrived with, before moving on with life.

  • If you give me 48 working hours’ notice (excluding weekends), I will not charge you for the missed session. If you cannot give me this much notice but I am able to reschedule within the same week, I will also not charge. However, if I have less than 48 working hours’ notice or if I do not have a rescheduling opportunity, the session will be chargeable at full rate. Therapy works best when there is a commitment from both practitioner and client to attend regularly and your time slot, once agreed, will be held exclusively for you. Therefore if it is unused, it will need to be paid for unless it can be rescheduled.

  • I ask for 48 working hours’ notice in order to cancel a session without incurring the session fee. If too many sessions in a row are cancelled, I reserve the right to withdraw therapy.

  • Due to the limitations of my own life and practice, I have very limited ability to manage irregular schedules or changing times and, in this instance, if we are unable to find a reliable and regular time for you to attend, I may not be the best therapist for you. Safety and progress in therapy is created via regular attendance and if you are a shift worker, you may need to look for a therapist who can accommodate an irregular schedule. Having said that, I am able to work online if the same time would be possible but from a different location.

  • I will give you at least one month’s notice of holiday breaks and you will not pay for your session time whilst I am away. In the infrequent event that I am ill, I will give you as much notice of cancellation as possible via phone or text, and will also not charge you.

  • Yes, I can work either in person from my office in Woodhall Farm in Hemel Hempstead, or online via Zoom.

  • Yes, I have a certificate in couples counselling from 2015. I only work with couples in person.

  • Currently I only work with young people aged 11 and over; however I intend to complete further training in the next year to be able to offer therapy to younger children.

  • Yes, I have a lot of experience with teenagers aged 11-18 in both schools and private practice. If the child is under 16 then I ask the parent to approach in the first instance. I have a current enhanced DBS.

  • Yes, I supervise a number of qualified and trainee psychotherapists and counsellors.

  • Yes. I am on the list of approved supervisors for both the Gestalt and Humanistic departments at Metanoia Institute and am able to work alongside training institute requirements of supervisors. 

  • I am able to offer editing and academic consultation for students up to Masters’ degree level on Gestalt or Humanistic psychotherapy training courses. I am particularly familiar with Metanoia’s requirements, having worked in their Gestalt and Humanistic departments for many years.

  • Please see the statement on my page about data protection.

For parents of children and adolescents

  • Whilst it is important that the main content of the work remains confidential between me and your child, with children under 16 parents are a central part of the therapeutic process. We will have a clear conversation at the outset of the work about what I will tell you, what I won’t tell you, and what I may or may not tell you. Usually, if there is something to ‘tell’, your child will be supported and encouraged to do the telling themselves, within the support of the session if needed. If your child is at serious risk, you will be informed immediately. If your child is aged 16-18 then the work is more confidential than with a younger child, but if your child is at risk, you will still be informed. 

  • We will have parent reviews every half term, usually held separately or as an adjunct to the therapy session. These last 15-30 minutes and your child will have had an opportunity to think through what they would like to share with you in advance of the review. It is my intention that this time will be a useful opportunity for parents to understand what is happening for their child so that they can provide more support.

  • I can work with children from separated families and would simply add that it is important that both parents are ‘on board’ with the therapy process. It is important that issues such as who is paying, who is bringing the child to therapy (or providing the computer technology and quiet space to work online) do not become things that increase antagonism between separated parents. Whilst I appreciate that different parents may have different feelings about therapy, broadly both need to be in agreement for therapy to take place. Please note that I will not comment on or contribute to any legal proceedings involving custody.

  • No. At this point, I do not have enough specialist training to work with children where there is a legal process taking place. 

  • Parent reviews are offered on a half termly basis and where appropriate, you may be invited to take part in the therapy process. However, this is not a matter of course and if you want a space where you can work together regularly, it would be more appropriate to seek family or systemic therapy.

Your data