What is Therapy?
Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy or usually just “therapy,” is a form of treatment aimed at relieving emotional distress and mental health problems. Provided by a professionals – it involves examining and gaining insight into life choices and difficulties faced by individuals, couples, or families.
Psychotherapy encompasses many types of treatment but the critical aspect is that the client works collaboratively with the therapist and can identify improvement and positive change over time.
Most therapies in wide use have been well-tested and deemed effective. Though it may at first feel difficult to seek out therapy – the benefits of successful therapy are literally life-changing.
What is Systemic Psychotherapy?
Find out a little bit more about systemic psychotherapy on the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic practice on their website.
What is Therapy?
Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy or usually just “therapy,” is a form of treatment aimed at relieving emotional distress and mental health problems. Provided by a professionals – it involves examining and gaining insight into life choices and difficulties faced by individuals, couples, or families.
Psychotherapy encompasses many types of treatment but the critical aspect is that the client works collaboratively with the therapist and can identify improvement and positive change over time.
Most therapies in wide use have been well-tested and deemed effective. Though it may at first feel difficult to seek out therapy – the benefits of successful therapy are literally life-changing.
What is Systemic Psychotherapy?
Find out a little bit more about systemic psychotherapy on the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic practice on their website.
Therapy Sessions Available
Family counselling can be for the whole family or just some family members. It might include parents, siblings, extended family and looked after children.
If you’re having relationship difficulties, I can work with you as a couple or as individuals.
Therapy for children or young people can be helpful when they are feeling low, anxious, lacking in confidence, angry or are experiencing problems at school or with friendships.
The most common way of receiving therapy is where you and your therapist are alone together in the same room.
Therapy Sessions Available
Family counselling can be for the whole family or just some family members. It might include parents, siblings, extended family and looked after children.
If you’re having relationship difficulties, I can work with you as a couple or as individuals.
Therapy for children or young people can be helpful when they are feeling low, anxious, lacking in confidence, angry or are experiencing problems at school or with friendships.
The most common way of receiving therapy is where you and your therapist are alone together in the same room.
Do You Have a
Question?
What are counselling and psychotherapy?
Counselling and psychotherapy are umbrella terms that cover a range of talking therapies.
Counsellors and psychotherapists are trained professionals who will work with you over a period of time to help you develop a better understanding of yourself and of others.
Therapists are impartial. They will listen to you without judgement and work with your emotions without becoming emotional themselves. They won’t tell you what to do but will help you find your own solutions – whether for making effective changes or for learning how to cope.
There are several different types of therapy and therapist. It’s important to find a therapist and a way of working you’re comfortable with so you can feel at ease discussing personal and emotional issues.
How can therapy help?
Therapy can be helpful if you’re feeling painful emotions or facing difficult decisions, if you want to improve or change your relationships, or if you’d like to develop a better understanding of yourself or others.
Perhaps something unsettling has happened, such as a bereavement, redundancy, divorce or health scare. There may be something in your past that’s not been dealt with and is now interfering with your daily life. Or you may want help to cope with issues such as anxiety, stress or personal problem solving.
For individual therapy, you may feel isolated and have no one to talk to, but sometimes even those with the most supportive friends and family can find it difficult to explain why they’re feeling anxious or depressed. Or you might just find it easier to talk about personal, family or relationship issues with someone independent.
For couples and family therapy, we are working together to consider how to diminish the dilemmas in and around relationships to assist with any difficulties that you may be experiencing.
But you don’t have to be in, or on the verge of crisis, before having therapy. You might be feeling dissatisfied with life in general or seeking balance in your life.
Therapy sessions
Therapy sessions are held at an agreed time in an agreed place, providing a safe space which is private and undisturbed. They will not take place in cafes, hotel lobbies or any place where we can be overheard, recognised or interrupted by family, friends, colleagues or strangers. Sessions are usually regular and will be weekly or fortnightly.
How many sessions will you need?
Talking about your issues can take time and you won’t cover it all in a single session. We will start of with an assessment where we will discuss what has brought you to therapy, what differences you would like to see and agree on an initial number of sessions. This is typically six sessions with a review at session three.
A session generally lasts 50 minutes so you and your therapist can maintain energy and focus.
What are the charges and how do you pay?
Costs are £80 per session and can be paid on booking through this website.
If you have concerns around payment, please contact Laura on laura@aislingpsychotherapies.com to discuss other options.
*Prices are subject to change – please confirm before booking.
How do I make a complaint?
I recognise that at times things can and do go wrong. I believe that it is in everyone’s best interest to resolve complaints and concerns at the earliest possible stage.
I am accredited by UKCP and if there are any difficulties or concerns about my practice, please contact me first to discuss.
If you are still not satisfied, you can download my Complaints Procedure here.
Types of therapy
Therapists can be trained in many different approaches or ‘modalities’ and have different ways of working with clients.
They may work in one particular way, or they might use techniques from other approaches if they think it would be helpful for you. Some use specialist techniques, for example an art therapist would use art as a means of exploring feelings and thinking. Or they may offer specialist treatment for specific issues such as eating disorders, addictions or depression.
Therapists may see clients as:
- Individuals (one to one therapy)
The most common way of receiving therapy is where you and your therapist are alone together in the same room. But you can also receive individual therapy by telephone or online (by email or via the internet). - Couples (relationship therapy)
If you’re having relationship difficulties, counsellors may work with you as a couple or as individuals. - Families
Family therapy can be for the whole family or just some family members and may involve one or more therapists. It might include parents, siblings, extended family and looked after children. - Young People
With young people, I can work individually or with parent/carers or siblings present. With primary school children, this is preferred. - Groups
Groups of people with a common difficulty, such as bereavement, eating disorders or addictions, may discuss their feelings and emotions together helped by one or more counsellors. The number of people in a group can vary.
It’s useful to discuss what approaches a therapist offers so you can think about what might work well for you.
What happens in therapy?
Therapy is time set aside by you and your therapist to talk about the issues that have made you seek therapy. It’s not just a friendly chat like you’d have with friends or family.
Therapy might include talking about past and present life events, your feelings, emotions, relationships, ways of thinking and patterns of behaviour. Your therapist will help you look at your concerns and identify the best course of action for you, which might be helping you to resolve your difficulties or to find ways of coping.
Therapists can:
- offer a safe and confidential space to help you explore emotional problems
- help you make sense of your world
- help you explore feelings and thoughts to resolve emotional distress
- help you towards a better understanding of yourself and others, which may improve your ability to relate to others
Therapists will not:
- tell you what to do
- prescribe drugs – only an appropriate medical practitioner can do this
- offer help with practical problems, such as financial or housing issues
- provide specific information about health-related problems, unless they work in a
specialised service - meet outside pre-planned sessions
Is it confidential?
Your therapist will listen to you in confidence and will not talk to anyone else about you or gossip about what you say. Protecting a client’s confidentiality and privacy is essential for building trust.
Your therapist will not discuss you with, or get personal information about you from, your GP, employer, family, friends or other agencies without your knowledge. If you want your therapist to contact your GP or any other agency, you should first agree this with them and confirm the issues to be discussed.
Within organisations such as GP practices, schools, universities and some therapeutic agencies, your information may need to be shared so they can best help you. Make sure you’re clear what information may be shared and with whom.
Disclosures
However, there are certain circumstances – for example if there’s a serious risk of
imminent harm to you or to others – when they may have to break your confidence.
For example, if a client is seriously mentally ill and needs hospitalisation, or if the
therapist suspects child or older person abuse, they may refer the client to a GP, social services or the police. Such referrals are usually made with the client’s knowledge and consent but may not be, depending upon circumstances.
Sometimes therapists are required by law to break confidentiality, for example in the case of terrorist activities. In this situation it can be a criminal offence for the therapist to tell or ‘tip off’ the client that they’ve made a disclosure.
Disclosures can also be made at the client’s request – for example if the client has been abused and asks for help or for assessment reports to help with court cases. While notes can be requested, only brief notes are kept and in couple sand family sessions, everybody who has been part of those sessions will have to consent to these notes being released.
You should discuss confidentiality in your first session with your therapist and agree on the limits of confidentiality for your work together.
Who can't we work with?
We cannot work in couple or family sessions if there is active domestic violence. Before booking, please contact us if there are any ongoing safeguarding issues.
What is your cancellation policy?
Please give 48 hours notice for a cancellation. A full refund will be given if cancelled within these timescales.
How do I get the most out of your therapy?
You can get the best results from therapy by:
- being open
- saying how you are really feeling
- giving your therapist honest feedback on how you are experiencing the therapy
Good therapy should feel safe and enable you to take risks with the issues you are
prepared to work on. This includes saying how you think that you and your therapist are working together.
Your therapist should be:
- impartial and able to express warmth and empathy to help you talk openly about your feelings and emotions
- non-judgmental – they should not judge what you disclose about yourself, your
attitudes or behaviours - fair, open and trustworthy to enable a respectful working relationship to develop
between you. Therapy is a very personal experience and, to a certain extent, how you feel about the relationship will affect whether you can work effectively together. - provide a good standard of care for you – which includes being aware of their own
training, experience and limitations and referring you on if they feel unable to help you - professionally trained and qualified, and have knowledge about the issues that you want to discuss. They should be aware of their own issues and support needs and be receiving regular supervision. (Supervision is a formal arrangement where therapists can discuss their work regularly with someone external so they can maintain adequate standards of therapy.)
- your therapist will pay attention to power in relationships in a family or couple sessions.