Frequently Asked Questions

Confidentiality is one of the most important components between the client and the clinical psychologist. Successful therapy requires a high degree of trust with highly sensitive subject matter that is usually not discussed anywhere but within the therapeutic session.  Every client should provide a written copy of their confidential consent form before therapy commences, and you can expect that what you discuss in your session(s) will not be shared with anyone.  This is called “Informed Consent”.  Sometimes, however, you may want your clinical psychologist to share information or give an update to someone on your healthcare team (for example, psychiatrist or GP), but by law your clinical psychologist cannot release this information without obtaining your written permission.

However, professional ethics require psychologists to maintain confidentiality except for the following situations:

• Suspected child abuse or dependant adult or elder abuse, for which I am required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
• If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person(s), I must notify the police and inform the intended victim.
• If a client intends to harm himself or herself, I will make every effort to enlist their cooperation in ensuring their safety. If they do not cooperate, I will take further measures without their permission that are provided to me by law in order to ensure their safety.

The amount of time you spend in therapy is deeply personal and depends on your individual needs, goals, and resources.

The number of recommended sessions varies by condition and treatment type. I will endeavour to communicate openly with my clients to ensure that the treatment plan and timeline are understood. We will set therapeutic goals to enable you to have a clear plan for you to understand your therapeutic treatment with myself. Together we will determine what the best fit will be given your therapeutic goals.

The first therapy session is unlike other sessions as it’s a time for both myself and the client to get to know one another. The majority of the session is spent with me collecting information about your past, and specifically your experiences related to what you’ve come to therapy to work on – when did it start, what’s happened since what have you tried that works and doesn’t work, amongst other items. We will also discuss what your goals, or what you would like to achieve from our work together. This allows me to have a good idea of what we will be working on and I can then take what I know about treating other clients with similar concerns to collaboratively create a plan of how we will work to meet your goals together in therapy. The first session is also a time to begin developing our working relationship. Trust is incredibly important in therapy and it all starts in the first session.

Sessions after this will be focused on working towards your therapy goals. I firmly believe that you as a client are the expert in your own life. While I provide my clinical knowledge and support to try what might be too scary to try on your own, you know yourself better than anyone. Together, we will utilise various therapeutic techniques, with feedback from you on what you find to be the most helpful.

You are able to pay for your session by bank transfer or PayPal at the time of your session.

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful scientifically proven psychotherapy to help people recover from traumatic events in their lives which have led to poor mental health.

When an event is incredibly upsetting (trauma), the brain is sometimes unable to process the experience as it normally does, therefore the thoughts, feelings and sensations of the traumatic event can become frozen in the nervous system as if it's in a time warp. 

The EMDR association UK is the professional body for EMDR clinicians and researchers seeking the highest seeking the highest standards of clinical practice in the United Kingdom. I have completed my training with the EMDR association UK.

EMDR therapy is recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).