Please contact me at ataloss-conselling@hotmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question or require further information.
You can get in touch with me by using the CONTACT ME tab. I offer a free 20 minute initial phone call and you are welcome to ask any questions that you may have. We would also try to set up an initial consultation session at a mutually convenient time.
Often, speaking with or meeting a stranger can be uncomfortable. If you are feeling anxious or overwhelmed please know that I will try my best to provide reassurance and help you to feel at ease. This may be the first time you have sought counselling and you may not know what to expect. Equally, you may not know what you want or need from therapy, but we can begin to look at this together and take it one step at a time.
At our first meeting, I will aim to gain some further understanding about your situation and we will start to get to know one another.
I will complete a basic assessment with some personal information. You will have the chance to ask me any questions and at the end of this session we can hopefully have a better idea about what you may need from our work together and how I can best support you.
Loss is unique and everyone responds and copes differently. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. You may be a family member or friend who has been caring for some time prior to the loss. Counselling has no defined timeframe and it can last as long as you want it to.
I generally find that it can take 4 to 6 sessions for us to get to know each other and to bed in our therapeutic relationship. The number of sessions you have will depend on how your grief presents and what you hope to achieve from the counselling.
Many clients start to feel the benefit of counselling within just a few weeks, some longer. We will regularly review whether the counselling is meeting your needs. Your emotional wellbeing is my main focus.
Fundamentally, the sessions are for you to bring your material, without specific direction from me and you have the autonomy to decide how you would like to proceed.
The process is open ended and you are free to end at any time. Successful counselling requires both time and commitment and can often bring some resolve, greater self-understanding and emotional well-being.
Your initial consultation and all subsequent appointments will last 50 minutes and wherever possible take place on the same time and day each week. Due to the commitment I have to all of my clients, I am unable to go over the allotted time if you are to arrive late to a session.
In person sessions are £60 each
Online and telephone sessions are £50 each
Payment by bank transfer (BACS) is preferred and required at least 48 hours prior to your session.
Confidentiality is an imperative part of the counselling process and one of the things that makes our relationship different to any other. Our sessions are strictly confidential and take place in a sound-proofed room in person or in a private space without distraction if online or on the telephone.
Only if I felt that you or someone else were at risk of serious harm, would I need to break our confidentiality. This is rare, but in such circumstances I will always try to discuss this matter with you first.
I pride myself on looking after you and keeping you safe.
Life doesn't always go to plan so if you need to cancel a session with less than 48 hours notice, you will still be expected to pay for the session as my time and premises will have been booked out solely for you. Wherever possible I will try to offer an alternative, suitable time, though this will depend on our availability.
You can cancel an appointment by phone, email, text message or within a session. There will also be negotiated absences on both parts for planned breaks in our work.
Further details of all of the above are included in our working agreement.