First sessions
I am a Person Centred Counsellor which means that you will do the majority of the talking.
Online counselling gives you a lot of flexibility for you to access your counselling from wherever you like.
I suggest a comfortable and confidential space where you are confident you will not be overheard so you feel you can talk freely. Some clients choose to take a walk whilst they have their phone session or to access a video session from their car.
After talking on the phone or e-mailing each other we have agreed to meet for an initial counselling session. I have provided you with the appropriate information for accessing your session.
A first time doing anything can be daunting, but I'll try to give you a flavour of what our first session may be like. We meet via your chosen online method. I try to match your pace, I don't want to rush you. If you need time to settle yourself in, take stock of your surroundings, size me up that's fine. If you want to get stuck straight in, that is fine as well.
In the first session I initially take the lead and after introductions and settling in I'll take you through our contract. This is important even if you choose not to work with me and we never meet again because it makes you aware of the confidential nature of our counselling sessions and occasions when I am legally or ethically required to break that confidentiality. I believe this gives you the ability to make informed choices about what you say and what you may not want to say. You can find a copy of my latest contract here.
Talking through the contract takes a few minutes and hopefully we are feeling at ease with each other. Now we can get on with the content of your session. This is where things become harder to predict, you might want to give me a flavour of your life, past or present. You might prefer to discuss the particular circumstances that have brought you to see me today. You might not know how to begin or what to say I am here to be with you while you figure out how this first session is going to go
Fifty minutes to talk just about yourself is something that many people will never have experienced. It was certainly one of my concerns when I went for counselling, what will I talk about? What if she thinks I am boring? Is it really going to do me any good just moaning on about my stuff? I can't say that all of the counsellors I tried put these fears to rest but certainly the ones I found most helpful did.
I welcome anything you might choose to bring, I believe you are the expert on what is important and I find that the sessions will develop a rhythm of their own. Everybody will have a different experience of counselling because we are all different and the relationship that is built in the counselling room is a unique thing developed between us.