Counselling FAQs

Counselling is a safe, non-judgemental space where you are free to talk about whatever you wish. As your counsellor, I will help you to explore your feelings, thoughts and behaviours, to recognise any patterns, where they come from and how you would like them to change. You know yourself best so I won't give you advice or tell you what to do, but I will help you to increase your self-awareness and to come up with your own strategies and solutions. I will help you to navigate difficult emotions, life events, relationships and situations. For us to work effectively together, our relationship is very important and you should feel safe enough to talk about anything. If you would like to find out more, please email hello@lhcounselling.net, or use the contact form and we can arrange a free 30 minute introductory telephone call.

Please send a brief email to hello@lhcounselling.net or use the contact form on this website. We will arrange a mutually convenient time for a free 30 minute introductory telephone call, and then if you would like to go ahead we can arrange your first session from there.

It's an opportunity to start to get to know each other, so I will ask you a few questions about you and what you would like to achieve from counselling. You will have the opportunity to ask questions about me and how I work so that you can decide whether I am the right fit for you. I will talk you through everything you need to know to do with the practicalities of counselling, such as when, where, how often, cost and cancellations, as well as things like confidentiality and privacy, as it's important to know all of this before you start. I will explain what happens in the first session, and if you are happy to go ahead we can book you in and I will send you a short form to complete.

It is important to choose a counsellor who you feel comfortable with and if, after your introductory telephone call, you decide that you would like us to work together, we will arrange your first session. In the first session we will agree on the details of how we will work together. Sessions will be 50 minutes long and will be the same day and time each week. The number of sessions you need will be entirely up to you, there is no limit or set amount. When you decide it is time to end we can have a final session to review your progress and make a plan together to help you to maintain the progress that you have made.

Sometimes life gets in the way, I understand that! So if you need to cancel your session please do so with as much notice as possible. You can do this by sending an email to hello@lhcounselling.net. I can't guarantee that I will be able to rearrange your appointment to another day or time that week so we will usually continue your sessions at the usual time the following week. Unfortunately if you cancel within 24 hours of your appointment there may be a charge.

Sessions can be paid for by bank transfer or I can send you a payment link if you would prefer. Unfortunately, if payment is not received before the start of your session it may not go ahead, so please let me know if you are having any difficulties.

Yes! We will discuss this briefly in your introductory session as it is important that you are aware of, and agree to, the circumstances where there might be exceptions to confidentiality before agreeing to start our work together.

I work one-to-one with adults (over 18s) who need someone to talk to in a non-judgemental, gently challenging way

Please talk to me about any adjustments you may need. It is important that you feel comfortable so I will do my best to adapt the sessions to support you.

No, but please give me as much notice as you can. If you are holidaying in the UK, you have the option of attending your session online, but it's ok if you want to take a break while you're away!

You can talk about anything you wish. The sessions are yours and I will gently encourage you to talk about what you want to talk about, I will never direct you.