Personal Guidance

How much is a therapy session?

The sessions cost £95 each. They last for one hour. You must pay for the Initial Consultation in advance. You can pay for subsequent sessions on the day of your appointment.

Is the Initial Consultation free?

No. It costs £95. The initial consultation marks the start of your treatment.

My problems aren’t that serious. Will I be taking up someone else’s place?

Many people we’ve helped have been worried that their problems aren’t severe enough. They are anxious that their therapist will think they are complaining about nothing. It would upset them if they knew someone else was missing out because of them.

It is thoughtful to be concerned about other people. If this is you, you are probably very good at caring for others. However, this worry speaks to a bigger problem you struggle with – you don’t believe you deserve the help.

While this concern for others is heart-warming, you probably suffer from low self-esteem. You may put other people’s needs before your own. You often sacrifice what you need or want to keep the peace.

You may struggle with feelings of guilt, embarrassment or shame. It is understandable because these feelings are challenging to handle. Our therapists can help you to be kinder to yourself and build a better balance in your relationships. If you are stuck and want to change, then we would love to help. Contact us by completing the form above.

Will talking about my problems make me feel worse?

It is wise to be cautious about starting therapy; I think it is essential to understand if it can make you worse. Here are some factors to help you determine if now is a suitable time to commit.

How stable is your home life? If you’re struggling to pay the bills or risk losing your home, then now is not the best time to begin therapy. You would be better off addressing these difficulties first.

Do you have a stable enough income? You need money to pay for therapy, and we discourage people from paying for sessions on credit. The more debt you get into, the more insecurity you create for yourself. We all fall on hard times, and you may have struggled to establish a regular income. We believe that you need some financial security to make the emotional and financial commitment to psychotherapy.

I won’t get the time off work – do you offer evenings or weekends?

Most available appointments are on weekdays and during typical daytime working hours. We may have a therapist who can offer you one of these slots.

Many people we’ve helped have been worried about getting time off work. If you talk to your employer, they may offer you the flexibility to attend appointments.

We can also offer sessions during lunch breaks or at the start or end of your working day. You can also save time on unnecessary travel by opting for online meetings.

My problems aren’t that serious.  Will I be taking up someone else’s place?

Many people we’ve helped have been worried that their problems aren’t severe enough.  They are anxious that their therapist will think they are complaining about nothing.  It would upset them if they knew someone else was missing out because of them.

It is thoughtful to be concerned about other people.  If this is you, you are probably very good at caring for others.  However, this worry speaks to a bigger problem you struggle with – you don’t believe you deserve the help.

While this concern for others is heart-warming, you probably suffer from low self-esteem.  You may put other people’s needs before your own.  You often sacrifice what you need or want to keep the peace. 

You may struggle with feelings of guilt, embarrassment or shame.  It is understandable because these feelings are challenging to handle.  Our therapists can help you to be kinder to yourself and build a better balance in your relationships.  If you are stuck and want to change, then we would love to help.  Contact us by completing the form above.

Will talking about my problems make me feel worse?

It is wise to be cautious about starting therapy, and I think it is essential to understand if it can make you worse.  Here are some factors to help you work out if now is a suitable time to commit.

How stable is your home life?  If you’re struggling to pay the bills or you are at risk of losing your home, then now is not the best time to begin therapy.  You would be better off addressing these difficulties first.

Do you have a stable enough income?  You need money to pay for therapy, and we discourage people from paying for sessions on credit.  The more debt you get into, the more insecurity you create for yourself.  We all fall on hard times, and you may have struggled to establish a regular income.  We believe that you need some financial security to make the emotional and financial commitment to psychotherapy.

I won’t get the time off work – do you offer evenings or weekends?

The vast majority of our available appointments are on weekdays and during typical daytime working hours.  We may have a therapist who can offer you one of these slots. 

Many people we’ve helped have been worried about getting the time off work.  If you talk to your employer, then they may offer you some flexibility to come to appointments. 

We can offer you sessions during lunch breaks or at the start or end of your working day too.  You can save time on unnecessary travel as well by opting for online meetings.

Is going to therapy a sign that you are weak?

In years gone by, there have been more significant stigma towards mental wellbeing.  Many people who would have benefitted from therapy have stayed away because they were worried about prejudice.  Thankfully, our culture has become a little kinder, and we are more understanding of our shared humanity.

Our cultures sometimes purport a warped version of what it means to be strong or weak.  Strength is not your ability to deal with things on your own.  It is not remaining rigid, but being flexible to adapt.  Survival of the fittest is about adapting to your context, and you suffer if you try to deal with things in the same old ways.

Rather than being weak, asking for help and going to therapy is a sign of strength.  It takes courage and shows wisdom.  If you are stuck, it isn’t your fault.  Evolution is not perfect, and we are all destined to suffer.  We fall into holes that we didn’t know were there.  There is strength in recognising that you would benefit from professional help and then taking the responsibility to ask for it.

What if I am not motivated enough – will it still help?

The top three reasons why we don’t do stuff that is good for us are: 

I don’t have the time

I don’t have the energy

I don’t have the money

How true for you are each of these statements?

Therapy does take work and commitment.  If your therapist teaches you the right strategies and you do the work between sessions, then you should start to see the improvements.  However, if you can’t get off the starting line, then what’s the point?

We all struggle with motivation at least some of the time, but a person can’t be unmotivated.  If you watch TV all day, then you are motivated to do that. 

Under many circumstances, people don’t change unless they feel uncomfortable enough.  You might know that change is essential; just like we know, sitting around and eating bad food makes us unhealthy.  However, we can still do it too often. 

Your therapist will help you build motivation and commitment to implementing new healthier habits.  They can help you to feel more uncomfortable about staying the same, and this can energise you to pick up some new behaviours. 

Therapy doesn’t just work for the super-motivated, and many people feel ambivalent at the beginning.  On the one hand, they want to feel better, and on the other hand, they don’t know that they can change.  Putting that aside, if you’re going to change, that is a useful starting position. 

If you think we might be the right counselling services for you, then get in touch by giving us a call or completing the form above.  We can book you in for the next available consultation.  If you want a free 15-minute Advice and Guidance meeting with our lead therapist, Jim Lucas, then book yourself in for this week.