The first step is a free, no-obligation Zoom call. It gives us a chance to talk about what brings you to therapy, for you to ask anything you like, and for both of us to get a sense of whether working together feels right. If we decide to go ahead, we begin with a provisional period of six sessions.
The first six sessions are provisional: time for us both to make sure that the therapeutic relationship works well and that this way of working suits you. At the end of the six sessions we review together and decide whether to continue into open-ended work. If I feel that I am not the right person to help you, I will say so clearly and will know what else to suggest.
Sessions last 50 minutes and take place weekly, at the same reserved time each week. That regular rhythm is part of what makes the work possible.
The fee is £85 per session, payable weekly in advance by bank transfer. I review my fees annually, and any change is discussed with you well in advance.
Both. I see clients in person in Stoke Newington, North London, and online by Zoom. Some clients work entirely one way or the other; others move between the two as life requires.
With at least 48 hours' notice, I will offer to reschedule your session without charge — usually within the same week. If we cannot find an alternative slot, or if less than 48 hours' notice is given, the session fee is payable. If I ever need to cancel — through illness, emergency or leave — no fee is payable.
Yes — because your fee holds your place. When we begin working together, your weekly time becomes yours: I don't offer it to anyone else. That reservation is what makes the continuity and depth of the work possible — you never have to wonder whether your time will be there. The fee sustains that, whether a given week's session is used or not.
That said, there is real flexibility built in: the rescheduling described above, keeping your session by Zoom while you are away, and — because many people's summer holidays are fixed by school terms or family arrangements — up to two sessions missed in August are not charged.
Yes. Everything you bring to our work remains confidential, within the small number of legal and ethical limits that apply to all UK therapists — chiefly serious risk of harm to yourself or others. If confidentiality ever had to be compromised for these reasons, I would make every effort to discuss it with you first. Like all UKCP-registered psychotherapists, I attend regular clinical supervision, where work is discussed without identifying details.
Your details are held securely in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, used only to contact you, and any records are destroyed seven years after our work ends. Arrangements are also in place for a professional colleague to handle records confidentially in the unlikely event that I am unable to.
After the provisional period, the work is open-ended, continuing for as long as it is needed. At appropriate times we review it together, and when the time comes we work toward a planned ending — endings are an important part of the work itself, not an afterthought.
Yes — you can download my full Psychotherapy Working Agreement here. It sets out everything above in more detail. If you would like to talk any of it through, that is exactly what the initial Zoom call is for.