People seek therapy for many different reasons. Some of the more common reasons are: depression or low mood, stress and anxiety, fears and phobias, trauma including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating and body image issues, self-harm, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), abuse.

The therapist you meet for the initial consultation will talk through the therapy options here. After the initial consultation, we will think about what might be best suited to meet your needs. You can read about our therapies here, and if you have a specific therapy that you would like to try, please let us know when booking your initial consultation.

You can book your initial consultation here. Once you have had your consultation, we will try to offer sessions starting within 2 weeks. Some therapies have a small waiting list. We will discuss this during the consultation where we can either add you to the list, or recommend alternatives.

The consultation is an informal meeting with one of our experienced therapists to talk more about you, what you’re hoping to get from therapy, what type of therapy might be most suitable, and to answer any questions you have. The consultation might be held with a therapist who you will not work with long term. They will take notes and make these notes available to the therapist whom you go on to work with. Following the consultation we will either allocate within our team, or signpost to other agencies if we are not the most suitable service at this time.

Therapy sessions are ongoing, regular sessions with the same therapist at the same time each week. This is where you will build a therapeutic, trusting relationship and work in-depth.

Both consultations and therapy sessions last 50 minutes.

There is a cost for consultations because you meet with one of our therapists, who will listen and give insights, answer any questions you have, signpost where appropriate, take notes and write up (so they can be shared with the allocated therapist), and give time after the consultation to think carefully about which therapy would be best suited.

If you are a new client or a returning client who has had a break of more than 6 weeks, we would request you book a consultation. This is so we can get to know you and assess whether we can offer suitable support at this time. Following the consultation we will either allocate within our team, or signpost to other agencies if we are not the most suitable service at this time.

If you are a returning client and wish to resume with your previous therapist, please make a note on your referral documents and we will aim to arrange your consultation with your previous therapist, almost like a ‘catch up/ check-in’ session before committing to regular therapy sessions.

Your therapy sessions are confidential between you and your therapist. Your therapist will talk about their work in clinical supervision, to ensure they are meeting your needs and providing the best care they can. You will be anonymised in supervision.

Anything you discuss will stay confidential between you, unless, your therapist is worried about you. In that case, they will have to tell someone but they will aim to discuss this with you first. They might tell your emergency contact (unless this may put you at risk), your GP, your social worker (if you have one).

There is no limit to the number of sessions, unless a limit is specified by another party responsible for paying for the sessions (i.e. an employer or Social Services).

Regardless of the duration of the therapy, there will be a regular review of your goals. Ideally, you should provide a minimum of two weeks’ notice if you are intending to finish your therapy; to assist you and your therapist to plan for this together.

We recommend weekly sessions as the continuity is important to the process and the therapeutic relationship.

If, after you have established a therapeutic relationship, you would like to drop to fortnightly sessions, or less frequent ‘check in’ sessions, this can be offered on a case by case basis.

Your therapist will listen and ask questions, and support you to make decisions, but they will not tell you what to do. This can feel difficult to begin with, however we feel it’s important for lasting change, that you make the decisions and explore the thinking process with your therapist, rather than following your therapists’ advice.

Yes, we have a varied offer of creative and talking therapists. All of our therapists combine talking with other creative exercises so if talking feels difficult or overwhelming, you can express yourself in another way.

We understand why you might feel this way, however, we do not see any issue as ‘better or worse’ than another. Your experience is what’s important and if you feel like you need support, we’d encourage you to book an initial consultation so we can think together about how we could offer support.

All of our therapists are professionals and non-judgemental. We always try to match clients with therapists who will be well-suited. However, sometimes, clients might feel that they are not the right match. Whilst we encourage clients to try to build and sustain a relationship, if it doesn’t feel ‘right’, we would try to reallocate within the team. We would meet with you/ the client, and the therapist to try to identify a suitable therapist within our team, or signpost to other agencies.

Yes, we offer therapy appointments during the day, and evening. Our evening appointments are more limited. Please let us know your preferences when booking your initial consultation.