In the days of yore (do you remember them? those lazy, hazy, crazy pre-COVID days?), we would have met once a week, to talk ‘at the table’. But life is different now – and, in many ways, more efficient! So we’ll more than likely be meeting on Zoom. We’ll choose a time that suits us both, and we’ll meet for about an hour.

For my ears only

Confidentiality is critical, and you can be assured that – at my end – what we discuss will go no further. Unless.

Unless

Unless you tell me (or I suspect) that you’re involved in terrorist activities criminal activity, if this were to be the case, the principle of confidentiality falls away, since I would have a legal obligation to report this to the police. There are a few further caveats to privacy, which you can read about in the section called “Caveats” at the bottom of this page.

Will you like me?

Will you like me? Will you feel safe in revealing you innermost anxieties and hopes to me? I think that, almost certainly, you will! How do I know? From many years of experience of counselling, mentoring, advising, advocating for, and supervising, many different kinds of people in many different contexts, I can safely tell you that the response from my many and varied clients, mentees, trainees or staff members has always been optimism, relief, and motivation. But, in the interests of some degree of assurance.

Don’t take your wallet out yet!

The first time we meet (and this may be on the occasion that you first call me or it may be at a scheduled time after we’ve initially made contact), we’ll take a look at the ‘problem’ or ambition that prompted you to call me. We’ll start teasing that problem or purpose out to clarify its boundaries and to reveal its essence (as it were). And we’ll consider what your goals are. I’ll explain how we might go about unravelling the issue, identifying solutions, establishing goals, and effectively striving for them. In a moment I’ll tell you what my suggestion would most likely be.

You might find that even this one session has brought about the clarity you were seeking. Or you might decide that this was a good starting point and that you’d like to pencil in some ongoing sessions. But, whichever the case may be, this first session is a complimentary one and won’t cost you anything.

(Don’t mention it! It’s a pleasure!)

Scheduling. How many sessions?

You’re thinking about going for it. “But how much time would this involve?” you wonder.

I have found that scheduling a fixed number of sessions, at regular intervals, is the most effective approach – more productive than an open-ended arrangement. Brevity adds crispness and dynamics to the process and allows you to envision ‘an end in sight’, while still allowing you the security of knowing that, when we have completed those sessions, there is nothing to stop you from setting up further sessions if you feel that you haven’t yet achieved what you set out to achieve.

I would generally suggest a tranche of 5 sessions to start. We would review your progress towards your goals in the 4th of those sessions. This strategy would enable us to plan for the 5th session. If the 5th session is to be the final one, we will use it to do a review and ‘wrap-up’. However, if you decide in the 4th session that you would most likely want to extend your sessions beyond the 5th, we would (obviously!) skip doing a ‘wrap-up’ in the 5th session.

But it is not necessary for you to commit to a tranche of sessions. Some people prefer a one-off session, as and when needed. And this is fine with me!

How often?

I have mentioned ‘regular intervals’. I hear you ask, “How long is an interval?” Good question. I have found that, in times of crisis (such as a relationship crisis or a bout of depression), weekly intervals work best. But for doing ‘life laundry’ or something like planning a career change, longer intervals (fortnightly, usually) are more effective since this gives you time between sessions to put into action and test out the plan-of-action that we will generate by the end of each session.

How much time?

My experience is that an hour works best. An hour is enough time: firstly, for us to greet each other (and comment on the weather); secondly, for you to give feedback on the progress (or otherwise!) that you’ve made since the last session; thirdly, to do some further ‘work’ on the issue that brought you to these sessions; fourthly, for us to devise a plan of action for you to focus on in preparation for our next session; fifthly, for us to ‘part ways’ in a quiet, unhurried, optimistic way.

You will always leave the session with a plan of action in your hand.

The big question. How much?

And now let’s assume that having had your introductory session and having considered the time commitment that would be involved, you feel that you’d like to ‘go for it’. You feel inspired to invest in your life and in your goals. (After all, this is the only life you’ll ever have.) You know in your heart that you’re worth the investment in time, and the effort. “But what is it going to cost?” I hear you wonder.

My standard fee is £60 per one-off session. If you were to book a tranche of 6 sessions (and pay for these in advance), the cost would be £250 (as opposed to the £300 it would cost if you were to book the sessions as one-offs).

“But …” I can hear you start saying, with a hint of despair in your voice. Let me finish the sentence off for you. “…. I’m motivated, but I can’t afford that.”

Because you’re worth it (as we mentioned before) and because anyone worths it, deserves support when they are in need, here is my offer to you: If you can convince me that you are motivated to become (even) better than you are or that some input from me would help lift you out of, for example, depression, to the extent that you would then be strong enough to work towards becoming (even) better than you are, AND if (with genuineness in your heart) you tell me that you don’t have the financial wherewithal to meet my standard fee, then I would gladly offer you the opportunity to pay an amount, however small, that you can afford.

But it is not necessary for you to commit to a tranche of sessions. Some people prefer a one-off session, as and when needed. And this is fine with me.