Counselling is a safe and supported place to explore whatever is causing you distress and holding you back in your life. Over a series of one-to-one sessions, we can carefully work through how you are feeling and why, and discover strategies to manage and relieve distress. The relationship between us is an important part of the experience – if we connect well the work is more likely to produce the outcomes you hope for. If you feel I am not the right person to work with, I am happy to refer you on so you can find someone who is a better fit.

Working online offers a great opportunity to engage in counselling from the comfort and privacy of your own space, but it is important to consider a few things before you decide to go ahead. First, is your broadband sufficient to support an hour-long session? Do you have easy access to a computer or phone? Can you ensure your own privacy at home? Interruptions and being overheard can happen, but it’s important to feel safe enough to talk about potentially difficult things. You don’t have to be a technical expert but a basic level of confidence in using your device is helpful. I am happy to provide written guidance about joining a Zoom session and more details about things to consider if you would like that.

If you are currently struggling with severe mental health issues such as a serious eating disorder, extreme and heightened risk including active suicidality, face-to-face support is a better option for you. 

If you are happy to call me we can have a 10 to 15 minute initial conversation to work out whether you want to book a session with me. Alternatively, I invite you to fill in the contact form and I will send you a brief form to fill in and return by email. The form asks for a short description of what brings you to counselling and what you hope to gain from it.

Sessions last 50 to 60 minutes. We will meet weekly or fortnightly by Zoom or phone. Some people find a few sessions to be sufficient to work through specific concerns while others benefit from taking more time to explore themselves in open-ended counselling. I suggest you think about having three to four sessions initially to get a sense of whether counselling with me is benefiting you and thereafter we can review regularly.  

My fee is £55 a session. I ask you to make payment by bank transfer before or immediately after the session. I will provide bank details if you decide to proceed. 

Yes it is. Confidentiality is essential in building a trusting therapeutic relationship. I will protect what you share with me. 

Counsellors in the UK must have regular clinical supervision and I might discuss our work in confidential terms with my supervisor, who is bound by the same confidentiality framework. This is to help me better help you.

However, it is important to note that there are exceptional circumstances in which I cannot guarantee confidentiality. If you share with me that you are at serious and imminent risk of harm to yourself or vulnerable others, I am ethically bound to seek further help from the emergency services. If you tell me you are currently involved in serious crime such as terrorism, money laundering or drug trafficking, I am legally obliged to tell the police even if you don’t want to.  

If you need to cancel a session, I ask that you give me 24 hours’ notice. Apart from in extreme circumstances, I charge the full session fee if you give less than 24 hours’ notice or do not attend the session unexpectedly.

I have a postgraduate diploma in counselling from Strathclyde University; before that I completed a certificate in counselling skills at Edinburgh University. And long before that my first degree was in Scottish Literature and French at Glasgow University. I am always developing and do lots of continuing professional development studies including short courses in focusing and Internal Family Systems, working with shame and trauma, an online and telephone counselling course and Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly course.

I am a registered member of the National Counselling Society and abide by its ethical framework.

My fee is £55 a session, to be paid before or immediately after the session. I will provide bank details in my contract and via an invoice. 

If you need to cancel a session, I ask that you give me 24 hours’ notice. Apart from in extreme circumstances, I charge the full session fee if you give less than 24 hours’ notice or do not attend the session unexpectedly.

I am a registered member of the National Counselling Society and abide by its ethical framework.