Whether you’re an individual client or part of a couple or family seeking support, you can refer yourself directly to our counselling, CBT, psychotherapy, coaching and other psychological services and we can usually arrange an initial appointment with one of our experienced practitioners within 7 days.
Referrals from health professionals and organisations
We are happy to accept referrals from GPs and other health and medical professionals as well as organisations, businesses and voluntary agencies. Please feel free to contact us for more details.
Booking an appointment
If you are considering booking a session with one of our practitioners then please do get in touch. We will discuss with you what you are looking for and help find the right practitioner for you. You can read about our practitioners here. Once we have agreed a practitioner and appointment time, we will send you an email confirming the details of the initial session along with directions and some further information on what to expect.
The initial session
All clients attend for a no ties initial session with their chosen practitioner (charged at the usual rate). This session is to explore your hopes and goals for therapy or coaching and to agree a plan to meet these. During this session, the practitioner will explain to you how everything works and answer any questions you have. We know it can seem very strange coming to see a psychologist, counsellor / psychotherapist, CBT therapist or coach and we will do our very best to put you at ease.
Although most our clients go on to work with the practitioner they’ve met in their initial session, we do understand that finding the right person and approach for each client is vital. Therefore we may, on occasion, suggest a different practitioner to you if we feel they may be better suited to your needs and way of working. Similarly, we would be delighted to advise you if you feel the practitioner you meet initially isn’t the one for you.
Contract with your practitioner
Once you are happy to progress with therapy or coaching, you will normally agree a ‘contract’ with your practitioner. This is not legally binding, but is designed to set out the terms and expectations of the therapy or coaching you are undertaking. The contract would usually include things such as the fee you will pay, issues of confidentiality, etc. It would also include the number of sessions you have agreed to start with, which we would normally suggest as six, followed by a review.
Of course you are entirely free to stop coming at any time, but we would ask that you give us the required notice. We would also suggest you attend a final session as sometimes therapy or coaching can be hard and it is good to end it in a way that is as helpful to you as possible.
Cancellations
In common with most professional services our practitioners are self-emloyed and therefore need to manage their diaries efficiently. We operate a strict cancellations policy requiring all clients to give us a minimum of two business days’ (48 hours) notice of any cancelled session. The full fee is payable where adequate notice is not given.
For more information about our centre, please contact us.