Frequently asked questions

Location

I provide private psychological therapy in Kingsdown near Deal. This is a relaxed and welcoming environment with private therapy rooms and a waiting area. There are parking areas close by.

What can I expect when we first meet?

When we first make contact, we will have a telephone conversation to talk about the difficulties you are accessing psychological therapy for.  If we agree that psychological therapy could be helpful, we will arrange a convenient time to meet at my therapy centre for an initial assessment.

The assessment will provide an opportunity for you to talk about your difficulties in greater depth.  During this meeting, we will discuss your goals for therapy and think about the most appropriate approach to use when working through your difficulties.  The way we work will be guided by your preferences, my professional judgement and also be informed by the NICE guidelines (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) which makes particular recommendations based on research findings as to the most effective approaches.

Following this initial meeting, if we decide go work together, we will discuss the regularity of sessions and the number of sessions.  It is recommended that sessions are attended on a weekly basis.

What is a Counselling Psychologist?

Counselling Psychology is a profession concerned with the integration of psychological theory and research within therapeutic practice. The practice of counselling psychology requires a high level of self-awareness and competence in relating the skills and knowledge of personal and interpersonal dynamics to the therapeutic context.

The relationship between a psychologist and client is considered central for counselling psychologists as it helps inform the understanding of particular psychological difficulties.

Counselling Psychologists are regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) who maintain a register of health professionals who meet their standards of training and professional skills. This is a statutory regulation that exists to protect the public against risk of poor practice.  Counselling Psychology is a protected title and only those with appropriate training, qualifications, experience and registration are entitled to use it.  You can check the qualifications and professional registration of anyone working with you.  To do so, click on the BPS and HCPC logos on this site to check the Register.

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an evidence based approach to working with a range of psychological difficulties including depression, anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder and low self-esteem etc.  It focuses on how a person’s thoughts and beliefs impact on their feelings and behaviour. This approach enables clients to develop more beneficial ways in which to respond to their automatic and sometimes unhelpful ways of responding to situations.

What is Psychodynamic Therapy?

The psychodynamic approach aims to help individuals with a range of psychological and emotional difficulties such as depression, anxiety, personality disorder, addiction and low self-esteem. In particular, this approach helps people who have difficulty forming and maintaining trusting relationships by exploring the impact of early experiences as a framework for thinking about current difficulties.

What is Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) is an approach that aims to identify unprocessed traumatic experiences (sometimes referred to as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) that continue to cause an individual psychological distress.  The client is asked to recall distressing aspects of their traumatic memory alongside associated thoughts and beliefs they had in relation to their experience. Simultaneously, the client is directed to move their eyes from side to side, referred to as bilateral stimulation (BLS).  This process aims to reduce/desensitise the impact of the distress associated with the traumatic event. Significantly, this enables the memory to be processed in a more adaptive way.

What is Metallisation Based Therapy (MBT)

MBT is a psychological approach created to treat people with a diagnosis of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder and is also found to be useful for other types of emotional and relationship difficulties. Metallisation is a mental activity that focuses on what’s going on in our own minds and what may be going on in the minds of others.  The capacity to mentalise can be severely compromised in the presence of intense emotions and in turn can affect the way in which a person experiences themselves in relation to others.