You may come to us never having had therapy before, or you may have tried a number of different approaches. We want to make sure that we match your individual needs to the most effective and evidence based therapy available, which is why we initially meet with you for an assessment. During the assessment phase, we will ask a number of questions to explore the nature of your difficulties, how long you have been experiencing them, things you have tried before and what your hopes and goals are for therapy. We will also use some questionnaires that help us to measure change as therapy progresses.

Following the assessment phase, we will develop a shared understanding of what has been causing you distress and make suggestions for the type of therapy that is best suited to your needs. Based on this, we can give some indication of the number of sessions you may need. However, we find that therapy is most helpful when we review your progress regularly (e.g. every 6 sessions) so that we can keep your goals in mind.

As you come to the end of therapy, we will think about ways in which to maintain the progress you have made. It can often be helpful to have a follow up session with your therapist after three months and then again after six months. This can be an opportunity to discuss any challenges you may have experienced or just to reflect on the positive changes you have made. These appointments can be face to face, by telephone or skype.