A little bit about me

For starters - I'm not a teacher, even though I do have a whiteboard!  That means there are no expectations that you sit still, behave in a certain way or talk about things just because I ask you to. Therapy is something we work out together. 

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I also have two cats. They sometimes join us for therapy — but they both have anxiety, so whether they decide to make an appearance is very much on their terms!  If you click on my picture above, there is a short video of me, the room we might see each other in and maybe  a guest appearance from the cats (Dax and Sassy!)
 

What can therapy help with?

You might be:

• feeling worried or anxious a lot of the time

• feeling down, sad or low

• feeling scared of certain things

• having panic or feeling like something bad is going to happen

• worrying a lot about what other people think of you

• finding school difficult or feeling worried about going to school

• having difficulties with friends

• finding things difficult at home or with your family

• having thoughts that feel strange, scary or difficult to get out of your head

• hurting yourself or having thoughts about hurting yourself

• finding some things harder because of the way your brain works

These are just some examples. You don't need to have a name for what you're experiencing to ask for help.

 

What actually happens in sessions?

Therapy doesn't always mean sitting in a chair and talking for an hour.

We might:

Talk.
Draw or write.
Play a game.
Try something out.
Look at things happening in your everyday life.
Go for a walk and talk.
Or just sit and chat.

Sometimes we might even play a game that has absolutely nothing to do with therapy.

 

There isn't one way of doing therapy. We'll work out what works for you.

 

You're in control

One of the most important things is that you are part of the process.

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I won't force you to talk about something you don't want to talk about, and you won't be expected to sit there and answer lots of questions.

You can tell me if something isn't working, if you don't understand something, or if you'd rather do things differently.  My job isn't to judge you or tell you what you should be doing. It's to help you work out what's going on and what might help.  Therapy should feel like something you're involved in — not something that's just being done to you.

 

What if I don't know what to say?

That's completely okay.  You don't need to arrive at your first session with everything worked out.  We can start with what's been happening recently and work things out together. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what is going on, and that's part of therapy too.  In our first session, we might not even talk about what's going on, we might just spend some time getting to know each other.

 

What about my parents?

This can look different for everyone.  Sometimes a parent might come to the first session with you. Sometimes they might speak to me on their own first. Sometimes you'll want them involved in sessions, and sometimes you'll want some time to talk to me on your own.  We'll talk about this together and work out what feels right.

 

Is what I say private?

Yes. What you talk about in therapy is treated as confidential.

 

This means I won't routinely share the details of what you tell me with your parents or other people.  We might talk with your parents about the general things we're working on, without telling them everything you've said. If you're happy for your parents to know what you've talked about, that's okay too.

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There are some exceptions. I may need to share information if:

• I'm worried that you or someone else is at serious risk of harm

• there are safeguarding concerns

• I am legally required to share information

If something like this happens, I'll talk to you about it and involve you in the conversation wherever possible.

We'll talk about confidentiality when we first meet, so you know how it works.

 

How long does therapy take?

There isn't a set number of sessions that everyone needs.  Some people need only a short course of CBT, while others need longer. It depends on what you're dealing with and what you want to get from therapy.  We'll regularly check how things are going and whether therapy is helping.

 

You don't have to be sure

You might know exactly why you're struggling.  Or you might just know that things don't feel right at the moment.  You might also be here because your parents think therapy would help, while you're not completely convinced.  That's okay.  You don't have to be certain that CBT is right for you before coming to see me. We can have a conversation and work it out from there.