Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does it cost?
- Is it really confidential?
- How do I know if you are Ethical, Qualified, Experienced, Professional, and Accountable?
- Isn’t seeing a counsellor just a sign of “weakness”?
- Isn’t talking to friends / family / a religious figure just as good?
- Aren’t “self-help” books just as good?
- Can I have a “Free Trial” session? Or can I have a discount?
- What’s the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?
- Do you work with Couples, Counselling for Young People, or offer Coaching or Hypnotherapy?
- I’m taking Anti-Depressants. If I come to counselling, should I stop?
- How long will it take?
- What if I find I don’t like my counsellor?
- What if I don’t like the direction the counselling is taking?
- What happens if it doesn’t work?
If you are in full-time employment, the cost of a session will be £35.00.
The cost to students and those not in full-time employment will be £25.00.
However, all fees will be individually negotiated and all circumstances considered. Please do not be afraid to call to discuss this.
Yes it is, though with certain ethical and legal exceptions, which we would discuss at the First Meeting.
We are not doctors or psychiatrists. We do not have the power to compel you to have any treatment or go for medical advice. But if we felt you really needed the services of another professional we would always say so and recommend that you pursue this.
There are two main professional bodies for counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK: both Glenis and Bill belong to one of these, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (see Links). This means we work in accordance with the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
As well as having completed our initial training, Glenis has a Batchelor of Science Degree in Counselling, and Bill, as well as having a psychology degree, is completing his Master Degree in Counselling Studies.
We have over seventeen years and thousands of hours of practice experience between us. We are supervisors to other counsellors. We are both committed to continuous professional development and regularly attend counselling training events and conferences.
It’s just the opposite. Deciding to explore your problems is an intelligent, adult, responsible approach. It is much more likely to work than deciding to sit on a problem, or stick to old ways of dealing with it that don’t really help any more. A “stiff upper lip” is no way to deal in the long run with a problem that is seriously affecting you when you could do something instead to really change things.
And counselling is often about hard work. It is about real commitment, in terms of time, money, courage, and energy.
Decades of research confirm that counselling works.
If you’ve got a good “support network” that’s great, but there are often going to be limits to how much family and friends will be able to help. When things are too much for you and the people in your life, perhaps it’s time to think about counselling.
There are many of these about, and some are better than others. It’s quite right to try to sort things out on your own, but if this doesn’t work, then maybe it’s time to seek counselling.
In any case, occasionally your counsellor might suggest some reading or ask you to do a little “homework”.
The First Meeting is always a kind of “trial” session, but it is not offered free of charge. Nor do we offer discounts for “block bookings”. Counselling is a serious undertaking and should be approached with the cost, as well the demands upon your time and energy in mind.
However, with regard to fees, we will discuss individual financial circumstances with everybody.
There’s no quick answer to this: experts disagree on the difference and how much difference there is, as there is some overlap. Various practitioners like to call themselves different things. Some people make a common sense distinction in terms of the time the work takes, how “deep” a problem is, the degree of “insight” aimed for, the training of the practitioner, and whether the problems encountered are more to do with today or with the past.
Some people come along having a clear idea of whether they want counselling or psychotherapy, but most do not. We offer both, and would always be completely open with you about the approach we think will help.
We work only with individuals, not couples. If asked we will be happy to pass on the contact details of people who works with couples, or you might try Relate (see Links).
We do not offer “Life Coaching”. As any reputable and qualified Life Coach will tell you, there is a line between what “coaching” can achieve with emotional problems and what can be done in counselling and psychotherapy.
Both Glenis and Bill have experience in youth counselling, but the rules for working with children and young people are rightly very strict, and only certain organisations are now allowed to do this work, not individual counsellors. If you are trying to get some counselling for a younger person, do contact us, and we will try to point you in the right direction.
We do not offer hypnotherapy nor can we recommend anyone who does.
No, even if you really don’t like the thought of taking medication. It is very unwise to stop taking any medication your doctor has prescribed you without discussing it carefully with your doctor. And sometimes a combination of anti-depressants and counselling together can be the best way forward.
This depends, there are many factors: How “deep” is the problem, how long it been going on, how easy or hard is it to understand, is there one problem or many, the ways you might have been dealing with it so far, what it is you want out of the counselling, what’s going on in your life whilst you’re in counselling, and so on.
Everyone is different, so potentially counselling can go on for anytime from weeks to years. We will always try to give you and idea of how long the process will take at the First Meeting, though there is always some “educated guesswork” in this.
What’s really important is that we periodically monitor carefully and honestly if the counselling is really working. It is important to keep a “focus” and monitor the progress and the direction the counselling is taking.
This can sometimes happen for a variety of reasons, and every counsellor occasionally meets clients who for one reason or another don’t want to work with him or her. No counsellor ever takes this personally: it is seen as part of the job, and is dealt with professionally. If this happens, often what is needed is not to give up on counselling altogether but to find a different counsellor or type approach to counselling that works for you. If this happened, we would try to point you in the right direction.
It’s very important that counselling proceeds along the lines of “informed consent”. This means you don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to, and we try not to go any faster than feels right. It’s important that you understand what is going on in the counselling and that you are in full agreement with this.
As counsellors, we do not want to offer counselling which doesn’t work, or counselling that goes on any longer than is necessary or you want. We want you to be able to feel, looking back after you’ve finished, that your counselling was some of the best money you’ve ever spent and one of the best things you’ve ever done.
However, we can’t offer any guarantees: the factors that come into play in counselling are often just too many and complicated to be sure of the results.
The best safeguard for your time and resources is for both of us to be honest and open about how we feel we are getting along. If the counselling doesn’t work, it is no time to give up on counselling – it may be that you need a different counsellor or different kind of counselling. However, all that said, counselling certainly usually does help !
