Accessing counselling is completely your choice and only you can decide if it is right for you at this time. I offer a free initial telephone consultation, up to 20 minutes, which is an opportunity for you to ask questions and get more information to help you make a decision. If you decide to book an appointment after this, the first session will be an assessment, which is a time for both of us to decide if I am the right person to support you.
Sense Counselling is my private practice, and I see all clients myself. If you would like to know more about me, head over to the About page.
Your first appointment will be an assessment session, which is an opportunity for us both to learn more and decide if I am the right person to support you. This initial meeting will be more structured than other sessions as there are certain areas that we need to cover in order to be able to safely move forward with your counselling. You will also have the opportunity to ask any questions to help you make an informed decision about whether you wish to continue with your sessions.
I work from two locations in Ipswich – please contact me for more details of these. If you choose online sessions, I will provide you with a link to a secure online platform which you can access from home, but it is important that you are in a room alone and feel comfortable to talk in that environment.
There is not a set number of sessions that will be right for each person. Depending on your circumstances and how you would prefer your sessions to be, we can either plan a specific number you would like to have at the beginning, or we can work in an open-ended way where we plan the ending once it feels like the right time for you.
Each session is charged at £60. This is payable on the same day, and payment can be via cash, bank transfer, or contactless.
Confidentiality is a very important part of counselling, and everything you talk about in your sessions will be as confidential as possible within legal and ethical requirements. This is because there are certain circumstances under which it may be necessary for a counsellor or therapist to share information outside of the sessions, for example in relation to safeguarding concerns. This will be discussed in more detail during your assessment session, and will be outlined in the counselling agreement we make together. If you would like to discuss confidentiality before booking an initial appointment, I am happy to answer any questions.
Unfortunately, it would not be ethical to have anyone else in the counselling session. However, it is natural to feel anxious before your first appointment, so please let me know if there is anything we can do to make it easier for you to attend the first time.
Absolutely. I offer a free initial telephone consultation, up to twenty minutes, or you can email me with any questions. Please visit the Contact page for contact information.
You can choose to end your counselling at any time. Just let me know that this is what you want to do and we can make a plan from there.
If you choose to have weekly counselling, then you will be offered an appointment at the same day and time each week. Naturally there will be occasions when you are unable to attend, so my cancellation policy is that the fee will be reduced to £10 if more than 24-hours’ notice is given. If less than 24-hours’ notice is given, the full session fee will be payable.
There are accessible rooms available, so please let me know if one is required and I can make sure you are offered an appropriate session time for when one is available to us.
There is not onsite parking available, but there are a number of pay-and-display carparks nearby.
Each session is 50 minutes long.
There is no requirement to prepare anything for your first session, but you are welcome to write down any questions you may have and bring these with you so that we can make sure they are all answered on the day.
Yes, keeping your information safe is a responsibility I take very seriously. I work in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and I am also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). If you would like more detail about how I keep your data secure please read my Privacy Notice.