Question 1

Can counselling really help?

Accepted Answer

Counselling provides you with support, validation, skills and resourceful tools, whilst offering a deeper understanding of your own patterns and how these might be serving you. It can help you tolerate difficult emotions, to begin to feel at ease.  
 
Sometimes psycho-education and feedback can be informative and provide guidance, and often there can be a corrective emotional experience, bringing about more fulfilment in your daily life.
 
Effective therapy can be life-changing. It cannot change others or external situations, though accessing your own insights and having limitless ways of responding that may better serve you, is empowering. It can open pathways and lead you towards new discoveries.
 
Although I don’t give advice, please note that usually with any unprocessed trauma, it may be that you feel worse before you begin to feel better.

Question 2

When I reach out, what can I expect?"

Accepted Answer

I understand that reaching out may evoke anxious or fearful feelings. It may be that you’re feeling overwhelmed or in crisis. I encourage you to be able to notice and share, how you might feel opening the door to therapy.
 
You can expect to be met, in a way that helps you to move forward with your life and decisions, to feel heard and understood. My work is strongly informed by a body-mind approach, noticing your feelings and sensations fully, and how you make sense of what is happening, is an important part of the therapeutic process.
 
There is no need to know how it works. My aim is to understand your situation, and to facilitate a pathway that works optimally, for you.

Question 3

How do I know my counsellor is a good fit?

Accepted Answer

It is important that you are free and able to speak authentically with me.
 
I will encourage you to bring to my attention, if you are feeling let down, annoyed, or maybe you are feeling unsure about raising an issue with me. Noticing these details is a significant part of relationship and an inevitable part of life.
 
I aim to understand you, in a way that perhaps others don’t, and to shine a light on the process, to enable you to come to your own conclusions and understandings.

Question 4

How do I book an appointment?

Accepted Answer

Whichever means you feel at ease to contact me, whether that is a text, an email or a telephone call, I will aim to return your message within 24hrs, and usually before that. 
 
I work from a private and peaceful setting in the Forest of Dean, which is easily accessible by public transport and via foot.

Question 5

What does the free telephone call do?

Accepted Answer

The telephone call will give you an opportunity to air your concerns and tell me more about your situation, and for you to ask questions. There is no obligation on you to continue, and it will provide you with a sense of me, and what it’s like talking to me, before making any commitment.
 
Equally, it gives me the opportunity to understand how to best suit your needs and if needed, I am able to potentially offer you a referral that is appropriate, for further help.

Question 6

How do I pay fees?

Accepted Answer

My fees are £55 for 60 mins and these are paid at the time of service, either via online banking (bacs) or in cash. Cancelling sessions within 24hrs of the scheduled appointment, will incur the full fee.
 
Where possible, I will try to reschedule the missed session, so you do not have to pay the fee, although I cannot guarantee this. For both our records, I email monthly invoices.

Question 7

Can you provide online sessions?

Accepted Answer

I am fully insured to work online, using platforms such as Zoom, Whatsapp and telephone therapy throughout England, Scotland and Wales. The initial talk will help gauge whether you feel at ease with these platforms, and if they are suitable for you.
 
Resources and local helpline agencies can be discussed, if there is quite a long geographical distance between us, to ensure your well-being. These may cover services that you can access in your local area, stretching from support groups to mental health networks.
 
Online therapy can provide many advantages, working from a safe space in your own home, allowing you to access therapists from a different location, that may work optimally for you. I am happy to talk you through what you will need to work online.

Ivana Hardy MBACP

FAQ

Can counselling really help?