Session Structures & Cost Arrangements

The number of sessions required will vary from client to client. The initial session provides an opportunity for you to talk about what you are looking for from counselling and how best to meet your needs. 

All first meetings are titled as an "initial assessment session". This is an opportunity for us to spend time together and gives me a chance to provide you with a thorough assessment of your Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health as well as discuss the main reasons for you seeking service. It is also an opportunityfor you to assess if you believe that we would be able to work together and ask any questions of me that you may have. If for what ever reason, I am not the right person to be of assistance to you at this stage then I will endeavour to identify a suitable alternative option and share any findings or formulations from our initial meeting with the receiving practitioner to make your journey to finding assistance as easy as possible. This additional sign posting and sharing of information will be included within the Initial Assessment fee and incur no additional cost. 

The initial assessment session lasts for around 60 to 90 minutes. In the case of working with young people some of this time will be spent with both the young person and accompanying parent/guardian, and some of the time with the young person alone. Towards the end of the session we will be able to discuss initial considerations and formulations, and negotiate a way forward.  

I offer both time limited (6-8 sessions) or open ended, long term work.

All sessions are for the therapeutic hour of 50 minutes and progress is reviewed on a six to eight session basis, which ever is felt most appropriate. 

SESSION Costs and Packages presently available

• First meeting and initial assessment - £80

• Individual Counselling - £60 per session (following first meeting and Initial Assessment)

• Screening for Autism in Children and Young People - £120

This includes completion of an evidence based nationally recognised screening tool, scoring and if required, report writing to your GP requesting referral into appropriate NHS services. Alternatively sign posting to other services as appropriate is also provided. There are further independent / private progression pathways that can be discussed should this be of your preference. The estimated session time for this work totals one 90minute session and one 50minute feedback and planning session. 

• Anxiety & Stress Management Package - 6 individual sessions £240

(following initial assessment) 

Stress and Anxiety are a common difficulty which can be life changing when the right skills are put into place to manage. Our stress and anxiety management package combines Cognitive Behavioural and Dialectical Behavioural approaches and runs over six therapeutic sessions. When booked in advance, the cost of each session drops to £40 a session reducing the total cost from £300 to £240. The cost also includes worksheets which summarise the session content for you to take away.

Letter Writing & Costs

From time to time it may be necessary for a letter to be written to your General Practitioner (GP). This is usually considered good practice when you are prescribed medication. This denotes that you are under "treatment" facilitated by your GP and attending counselling or therapy sessions can then be considered an addition to that treatment plan, necessitating the need for a short letter. At all times we will discuss the need of letter writing should it arise, and the letter will always be discussed with you in the first instance, shown to you in draft form where ever possible, and then sent with your approval. The only time this process may not be followed, is if there is a concern surrounding risk to your self, others, or doing so would not be in the public interest, even during these times where ever it is appropriate to do so, this will be done in liaison with you as far as possible. 

Letters needing to be sent to your GP (as deemed necessary by your counsellor or therapist) will incur  no additional charge's.

Letters that require; 

• A response to anyone outside of your GP (i.e. third parties or other professionals involved in your care)
• Writing as a response to a request by yourself, your GP or third party
• Particular planning &/or preparation time

Will be charged between £25 to £50 per letter written. In all cases this charge includes collaboration with yourself, amendments, postage, and additional copies being sent to other parties.

Letters that maybe deemed as requiring planning or preparation greater than that of a "reasonable short response", will trigger a neotiation on cost and will be discussed with the client prior to writing. 

Report Writing & Costs

From time to time and in some circumstances it may be necessary for a report to be written outlining the work being undertaken in sessions and to outline the plan for future sessions. Where this is required, costs are usually negotiated as part of the work being undertaken. Where this is not the case, report writing is usually carried out at a standard hourly rate of £50.00 p/h. 

Cancellation Policy

If you need to cancel an appointment for any reason please notify me by email, text or phone call with as much notice as possible. If you are unable to give at least 24 hours notice however, there will be a cancellation charge of half the nominal fee for the session.

Complex case work / multidisciplinary team working

From time to time there maybe clients who require more detailed work or more detailed collaboration with other professionals involved in their care (for example cases where there are legal proceedings pending or in process and need for solicitor contact or attendance at court, or more than one other professional involved, such as local authority, independent psychiatry etc).

Such scenarios will be assessed and considered on a case by case basis in the first instance however, a general outline of costs is as follows;

• Initial assessment / first meeting: £95*
• Standard session: £80*
• Court attendance: £75p/h + travel*
• Meeting attendance: £65p/h + travel*
• Report writing: £55p/h*
• Phone calls & Emails (incoming & outgoing): Charged in groups of 6minutes (0.1hr) @ £20*, calls/emails will be rounded to the nearest 6minutes

(Note: Invoices for above services will be itemised and have been listed *excluding VAT)