A Warm Welcome
Well done on taking this step—reaching out is often the hardest part of the journey, and if you’ve arrived here, you’re already considering it.
If you’d like to connect, I offer a brief, no-obligation call where we can “meet” and see if we feel like a good fit. During this time, I’ll share a little about how I work and where I’m coming from, and I’d love to hear what has brought you to this place of reaching out today.
There’s no pressure or expectation attached to this initial conversation. Each of us is unique, and I deeply respect and honour that individuality. If, for any reason, it doesn’t feel like the right match, I wholeheartedly wish you well on your path and hope you find the therapist who feels right for you.
Psychotherapy Sessions are usually about 50 minutes, with EMDR sessions a little longer at 60 minutes and by negotiation, we could work up to 90 minutes with EMDR.
Every session has a structure.
We can work from my office located in Whanganui or if you’re located anywhere outside the Whanganui Region, the majority of my clients are via Telehealth.
The duration of therapy can vary depending on your goals and what you’d like to explore. Generally, a longer-term approach allows for deeper, more sustainable change, though I’m happy to discuss what might be most appropriate for your situation. My aim is to work collaboratively with you on whatever brings you to therapy.
I manage the time for you so that you don’t need to.
It’s really important to work with someone who you feel is a good ‘fit’ for you. Research has shown that one of the most important factors in effective therapy, is the therapeutic relationship. This is why I offer a commitment free introduction on the phone and really encourage clients to use our first 2 or 3 sessions as a measure of whether they feel like we would make a good ‘match’.
Fees are $150 per standard session.
I will be available on some public holidays to offset times when my ongoing professional development takes me out of town and on those occasions when travel is required, it is communicated well in advance with the possibility of finding alternative solutions wherever that’s practical.
Confidentiality:
Confidentiality is paramount and will be discussed at our first session. In working together, whatever we discuss remains entirely confidential. If during therapy, you disclose harmful thoughts with the intent to action, whether towards yourself or someone else or I have strong reason to believe that this is your intent, and I’m concerned about your or someone else’s safety, I will be bound to action. The details of what that might look like will be dictated by a ‘plan’ that we will have collaboratively set in place. It will only be employed as an absolute last resort.
If we see each other in public, I won’t initiate contact by approaching you or greeting you. I will follow your lead in an effort to uphold your confidentiality.
I keep some notes related to our conversations and those along with any other information related to our sessions together will be stored securely and shredded or deleted within the legislated time-frame which is usually around 7-10 years.
Supervision:
As part of my practice and to ensure I maintain best practice, I attend supervision. The purpose is to improve the quality of work I do with clients. As part of this process, I will discuss clients with my supervisor but during these conversations your identifying information remains confidential. Recorded material might also be presented as part of this process and again confidentiality is held in highest regard. Only small portions might be presented in this way and usually only on occasion. My supervisor also adheres to strict confidentiality.
Cancellations, Arriving Late & Missed Sessions:
If you’re unable to attend a session, for whatever reason, please let me know as soon as possible as this allows the opportunity for me to fill the time that was reserved for you. For face-to-face clients, Zoom is an option. If you cancel with 3 days’ notice, there will be no cancellation fee. If, however, you notify me with less than 3 days notice, the full session fee will be invoiced. Sessions missed due to illness, will be taken on a case-by-case basis. If you’ve missed or cancelled sessions a few times in close succession, we will discuss what might be happening and whether there’s something we could do to support whatever might be the cause. I fully appreciate that ‘life happens’ and that might mean that sometimes you could turn up late. This means that we may just have to work with whatever time is left for the session.
If I need to reschedule or cancel our appointment, I will give you as much notice as possible.