What to expect from the free consultation
Your comfort is key
The idea of seeking out a therapist and entrusting a professional with your thoughts, feelings, and experiences can feel daunting. It’s essential you feel comfortable sharing things with me, and I don’t want you to have to pay for my time until you know we’re the right fit. That’s why I suggest we have a 15-minute online chat before any formal session.
Understanding your current circumstances
The purpose of this consultation is to help me to understand what is going on for you and to ensure that I feel capable of helping you. It also allows you to be sure that you feel comfortable working with me. During the consultation, I will ask a few questions to get a sense of what has brought you to therapy and what you are looking for from our counselling relationship. This is also an opportunity for you to ask any questions you have about counselling and how it works.
Be prepared to be brief
It's important to understand that, given we only have 15 minutes, we will not be exploring your experiences in great detail. Rather, it is an opportunity to get a sense of each other. Sometimes these initial sessions can feel like releasing a valve for a client and they realise that once they start opening up, it's difficult to stop. Please don't be offended if, at times I interrupt you. It's important that we both keep to the structure and the time boundaries that we have set in this consultation. The real work will begin in our formal sessions.
A mutually agreed next step
If we both feel comfortable proceeding after the consultation, we will schedule our first session. There's no pressure to make a decision on the spot. You're welcome to have some time to think about it and to explore other options first. If, after the consultation, you that to continue would not be right for you, there is no obligation whatsoever.
You set the pace.
Ongoing therapy sessions are typically weekly (particularly in the early stages of therapy). The standard counselling hour is 50-minutes. However, it’s important you work at your own pace. That’s why I offer both weekly and fortnightly sessions, lasting 30, 50 or 75 minutes to suit you. We will talk about what makes sense for you and will book a block of sessions at the same time/day, whether weekly or fortnightly. This slot will be kept for you until such time as it is no longer needed or you no longer wish to attend.
On-demand sessions can be arranged between appointments where necessary, and availability permitting.
If you feel that you’re ready to take this next step then please reach out to me by email on christine@thelosstherapist.co.uk or book a consultation via the website.