Frequently Asked Questions

Therapy can be helpful with a multitude of issues that people face. This can include anxiety, depression, stress, feelings of stagnation, loss, relationship problems, to mention a few. There is no limit in what can be explored in therapy, and ultimately it focuses on how the issue relates to you as an individual, and the meaning that you give to what has happened. There can be many layers to something and through sessions these different layers can be explored to give you a deeper understanding of your life.

The challenges we face in life could involve major events such as bereavement, loss of employment or the ending of a relationship. Or it may be due to a new life stage such as adolescence, parenthood, reaching midlife or retirement. Even people who have a good support system like a close network of friends, family and colleagues can benefit from therapy because the trained therapist will not only be a good and objective listener, but they are result-oriented and have all the necessary tools to lead you to effective therapeutic work with long-standing results.

Integrative Therapy takes its name from its ultimate goal, which is to integrate different parts of one’s self and bring all the parts of the personality in a balanced and effective whole.
It is also called Integrative because it integrates various, useful elements from different Schools of Psychotherapy. For instance, if a client tends to make many hypotheses and jump to conclusions, I might use CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy) to help them realize the effect of their negative thinking. If one has relationship problems, I might apply ideas from the School of Attachment Theory and combine them with an Existential Phenomenological approach to explore different ways of establishing authentic connections with others. The fact that Integrative Therapy doesn’t use an exact model of working can makes it a flexible approach that can be changed and customized during one’s therapy.

Your session is a time when you are free to talk about what is important to you. Your therapist is there with you to help you understand and make sense of what you are bringing to the session, without judging you or telling you what to do or think. It’s a safe space where you can share what’s on your mind, and better understand what’s bothering you, which can lead to new insights and ideas about how to move forward. Sessions typically take place once a week at the same time and place each week.

Your first appointment will last 90 minutes. During this session we will talk about the reason you entering therapy, your difficulties and we will explore what you want to achieve in your therapy. The initial session is also a way of finding out a bit more of how I work . Every other routine therapeutic session will last 60 minutes.

All therapy sessions are confidential. This means that we would never reveal your identity or disclose what you discuss in sessions to anyone else. There are some exceptional circumstances where we may break confidentiality, such as where either a client or someone they are talking about is at serious risk, or in certain cases where we are obligated and bound by law. This will be discussed with you at the initial session.

Weekly sessions create consistency, which is essential if you are to gain the full benefit of therapeutic work. It is therefore important that you are able to commit to attending regular sessions.

If you need to cancel a session, you have to let us know as soon as you are able to. If you cancel a session within less than 24 hours of the scheduled session, or without any notification you will be charged with the session fee.

Your weekly appointment is reserved only for you, which means that it cannot be offered to anyone else. Therefore any missed or cancelled appointments need to be paid in full, unless you notify us 24 hours before. The cancellation policy applies to all circumstances including illness.

You may have a sense of how long you wish to work in therapy for, but also this will depend on the nature of your difficulties and your goals for therapy. You may wish to have a specific number of sessions, or to have sessions without fixing an end date. In any case, we will make an initial plan and review progress on an ongoing basis. The need for further therapy will be very much led by you, and you are always free to end sessions at any time you choose.

The ending of therapy is an important part of the work. When you feel ready to end therapy we advise that you let us know in advance so that we can plan the ending together. This involves having an ending session, or a few sessions to end if you have been attending for a long time. The ending allows us to review the work we have done together, and gives us the time to say goodbye and bring the work to an end.

Whilst someone may feel that someone close to them may benefit from having therapy, we require that the person themselves contact us if they want to have therapy. It’s important that each person makes their own decision to have therapy, as they will be the person committing to the process.

Absolutely not. Seeking therapy is something that all people can benefit from, which helps in understanding one's self and life experience. This usually leads to better personal and professional choices, healthy relationships, and improved communication skills.

No. Only a qualified doctor such as a psychiatrist can prescribe or offer advice regarding medication.