Question 1

What is counselling?

Accepted Answer

Counselling is a talking therapy that provides a safe and confidential space for you to explore your issues and concerns with a qualified counsellor, without being judged. Therefore, you can expect to feel safe, supported and understood whilst exploring your thoughts, feelings and behaviours, to help you gain a better understanding of yourself and others. You can read more here.(https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/what-is-counselling)

Question 2

How can counselling help me?

Accepted Answer

Counselling offers you the space to talk about your difficulties, and how they impact you and others, with a trained professional, whereby you can can be heard and understood, without judgment or concern about ‘burdening’ friends/family for example. Through opening up and exploring such issues with your counsellor, you may even begin to feel more able to open up to those closest to you about your difficulties, and therefore not feel so alone with them.

Through this exploration with your counsellor, you will gain awareness of yourself and others, begin to identify areas of your life where you would like to see a change, and feel supported in working towards those changes you wish to make to your life.

Whether you are looking to process trauma, come to terms with difficult changes or losses in your life, understand and learn how to manage difficult emotions, or to explore and challenge unhelpful thinking or behaviours that can hold you back from being the person you want to be - whatever you may want or need from our sessions, we can work together to achieve this, and find a way for you to turn the page over and live the life you want to live, as the person you would like to be.

You can read more about specific issues counselling can help with here.(https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/what-therapy-can-help-with/)

Question 3

What do I talk about in a counselling session?

Accepted Answer

Simply put, you can talk about whatever you want. A vital part of counselling is opening up and exploring your current difficulties to understand the changes you’d like to make. Yet, throughout the counselling process, there may be sessions when you’re feeling really good, things are going well, and those difficulties don’t feel so difficult that week, leaving you stuck as to what to talk about. This is okay, and a natural part of the counselling process, and you becoming the person you’d like to be. When this happens, I often use it as an opportunity to explore those changes in how you may be feeling, to explore other hopes/goals, to reflect on how you may feel if next week you’re not feeling as good, or practice mindfulness or creativity to reflect on this - but you are also able to bring anything you like to talk about - even if it’s what a great week you’ve had, and how good it’s left you feeling.

Question 4

What happens in a counselling session?

Accepted Answer

Whether counselling takes place via telephone, online or in-person, the structure of the sessions is very much the same. We may begin by checking in with how you’re feeling today, or how the week has been for you, we may reflect on what we were talking about in the previous sessions, or you may bring something new entirely to talk about. The sessions are very flexible, in that I always follow your lead, whether you want to talk, vent or explore your difficulties, or you want some direction in how to improve your current difficulties, we follow your lead always.

You can read more here about what happens in a counselling session here.(https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/what-is-counselling.html#whattoexpectfromacounsellingtherapysession)

Question 5

How many sessions do I need?

Accepted Answer

The number of sessions you choose to receive is entirely your choice, and is dependent upon your personal circumstances, the problems you are facing and the therapeutic approach that we choose to work with. This will be something that we discuss during our initial telephone consultation. I offer both short-term (4-6) and long-term (open-ended) sessions. As such, throughout our counselling we will have regular review periods, whereby we check in as to how you think you're doing in relation to your hopes/goals for counselling, and explore your intentions for further sessions.

Question 6

How do I book a session?

Accepted Answer

You can book a free 15 minute telephone consultation prior to booking in your first session, by either filling out the contact form, sending me an email (turningpagecounselling@outlook.com) ((turningpagecounselling@outlook.com))or calling/texting (07724376767).

Question 7

What if I need to cancel our session?

Accepted Answer

As stipulated by our counselling contract, you will still be charged the full session fee for late cancellations (within 48 hours of the session) and non-attendances, unless when due to extenuating circumstances or when we can re-schedule within that same week.

If you need to cancel or re-schedule our session, please let me know at least 48 hours before hour session, by either email, texting, or call/voicemail.

Question 8

What if I have another question?

Accepted Answer

If you cannot find an answer to your question, please feel free to either use the contact form or email me at turningpagecounselling@outlook.com, (turningpagecounselling@outlook.com,)and I will try my best to provide you with an answer.