FAQ & Practical Information

Short-term therapy usually focuses on something specific, such as developing calming and coping strategies using approaches including yoga, mindfulness, creativity and movement, or working with a particular experience through EMDR.

The number of sessions depends on what we are working on. For example, a coping and calming skills programme might involve eight weekly sessions, while a focused piece of EMDR may need more sessions, including time for preparation and ending.

Longer-term therapy usually starts with building the therapeutic relationship and developing practical ways to feel more stable, present and grounded, before exploring ways to understand yourself and make changes.

The length of therapy is very individual. We regularly review how things are going, what you might need and whether further sessions would be useful.

Sessions for children aged under 14 are for 45 minutes, and 50 minutes for those aged 14 and over (including adults).

This time difference does not affect the fee- the fee is the same. It is common for therapists to charge more for work with younger children to allow for the increased expense for materials and for the time for clearing up after play therapy sessions etc. However, I reduce the time of sessions slightly as I find that making the sessions slightly shorter can be beneficial to the child’s capacity.

Weekly sessions are preferred, particularly when we first start working together, as they help us develop a therapeutic relationship, build trust and establish continuity in our work. Research also suggests that people attending weekly therapy sessions may experience improvements sooner than those attending fortnightly.

Once we've developed a relationship and established ways of working together, we can consider moving to fortnightly sessions if this would better suit your availability and finances, depending on your needs, what we're working on and my availability.

One thing to consider is that with fortnightly sessions, if we need to miss an appointment due to illness, holidays or other commitments, it could be a month between sessions. This can interrupt the continuity of our work and mean we lose some momentum.

For EMDR, fortnightly sessions can be suitable when we're focusing on preparation, developing calming and coping skills, and finding ways to feel more stable and in control. However, I usually recommend weekly sessions when we're working directly with processing memories, to help maintain continuity and allow us to review and support the process as it unfolds.

We can review the frequency of sessions together and adapt this as our work progresses.

Reference

Erekson, D. M., Lambert, M. J. and Eggett, D. L. (2015) ‘The relationship between session frequency and psychotherapy outcome in a naturalistic setting’, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(6), pp. 1097–1107. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039774

If you cancel a session with less than 48 working hours' notice (two working days), the full session fee will be charged. Weekends and bank holidays do not count towards this notice period.

If you cancel with less than seven days' notice, but more than two working days' notice, a £12 cancellation fee applies.

Where I have availability, you may be able to move your appointment to another time within the same week. In this case, (if it is an in-person appointment) the usual session fee plus £12 applies.

These charges apply regardless of the reason for cancellation, including illness, as they help me maintain a sustainable practice.

If you are unwell, we can consider whether moving our meeting to online would be suitable if you’re feeling well enough. This might not always be possible for me as the internet at my in-person space isn’t good enough and would require me to move locations.

I don't keep a waiting list because it can be difficult to predict when a space will become available. Sometimes therapy continues for longer than initially planned, and I wouldn't want people to wait for a space that might not become available, rather than getting the support they need when they need it.

If you email me for my availability and I don’t currently have a space available, you're welcome to get back in touch in a few weeks to check whether anything has changed.

If I don't have a suitable space, I can often suggest other places to look for a therapist. You can also find a list of organisations and resources here.

Once you've enquired, I'll let you know whether I have a suitable space available.

If our availability matches, we usually arrange a free 10–15-minute online chat to get a sense of whether we might be a good fit.

We can then arrange an initial online consultation, usually lasting 40–50 minutes, at a reduced fee of £50. This gives us time to explore what you would like support with, learn a little about your experiences and discuss how we might work together.

For children and adolescents, the initial consultation is usually with caregivers only, followed by a meeting with the child and a caregiver.

The initial consultation isn't the start of therapy. We may decide to work together, or I may suggest another therapist or service if that would better meet your needs.

You can read more about the process on my Therapy Enquiry page.

Based on principles of economic justice, the fee clients pay is proportionate to what they have available. The scale takes into account variations in both income and financial outgoings. For example, subsidised rent, such as housing benefit, may mean you have lower outgoings, while unsubsidised medical expenses may mean you have higher outgoings.

My sliding scale is based on the 'Green Bottle' sliding scale devised by Alexis Cunningfolk, and the wording used by the Radical Therapist Network membership sliding scale.

I work on a basis of trust and do not ask for proof of income. However, as this sliding scale is offered in a spirit of generosity, my request is that people use it honestly.

There is an allocated number of spaces available for each band. This allows me to offer accessible therapy whilst also ensuring the sustainability of my practice, appropriately valuing my time and professional abilities, and covering my professional overheads.

There is routinely more demand for lower-cost spaces than higher-cost spaces. Whilst I encourage anyone who needs a lower-price space to take it, if you take up a space at a lower rate, that space will not then be available to someone else who may not be able to afford therapy without it.

If you have access to financial support from others, such as family members or partners, please consider whether these resources are available and appropriate for you to use before taking a reduced-fee space.

If a third party, such as a parent, is paying for therapy, the rate is based on the third party's financial capacity.

My usual session fee is £80, with a sliding scale from £60 to £80 depending on your financial circumstances.

Please read through the bands below and choose the one that best matches your circumstances. These bands are guides rather than fixed categories, and you don't need to agree with every statement.

You can also choose an amount between the bands. For example, if you feel that you are towards the upper end of Band B but cannot comfortably afford the full £80 fee, you might choose to pay £75. Similarly, if you feel you are somewhere between Bands B and C, you might choose £65.

The intention is for you to choose a fee that feels fair and sustainable for you, whilst also considering the needs of others accessing reduced-fee spaces and the sustainability of my practice.

Band A: £80 (Full fee)

The Band A price is the actual cost of the session. If you choose a price below this band, you are receiving a discount.

You might choose this band if:

• I am comfortably able to meet my basic needs, including food, housing, household bills, transport and healthcare.

• I have a regular income and/or other reliable financial resources.

• I have some savings or other financial security.

• I have some disposable income after paying for my essential costs.

• I can generally afford things I want or need without having to make significant financial sacrifices.

• I could afford to buy new clothes, books or other non-essential items if I wanted or needed them.

• I could afford social activities, hobbies, eating out or similar activities without these creating financial difficulty.

• I could afford a holiday or take some time away from work without significant financial difficulty.

• I have access to financial support from a partner, family member or others if I need it, although I may not need to rely on this regularly.

Band B: £70 (Reduced fee)

You might choose this band if:

• I am able to meet my basic needs, such as food, housing, household bills, transport and healthcare, without significant financial difficulty.

• I have a regular income and/or other reliable financial support.

• I have some financial security, although I may have limited or no savings.

• I have some disposable income after paying for my basic needs.

• I can afford some non-essential spending, such as eating out, going for coffee, social activities, hobbies or other treats.

• I sometimes buy new clothes, books or other items, but I may also choose second-hand or lower-cost options.

• I can afford a holiday or take some time away from work, but doing so may require me to budget carefully.

• I may be able to ask a partner, family member or friend for financial support, although this may not always be available or may not be something I want or am able to rely on.

Band C: £60 (Reduced fee)

You might choose this band if:

• I am able to meet my basic needs, such as food, housing, household bills, transport and healthcare, although money can sometimes feel tight.

• I have a low or modest income and/or limited financial resources.

• I have no savings or financial safety net.

• I have some disposable income after paying for my basic needs, but it is limited.

• I have to budget very carefully about non-essential spending and rarely spend money on things such as eating out, coffee, social activities, hobbies or events.

• I rarely buy new clothes, books or other non-essential items, or I usually look for lower-cost or second-hand options.

• I have limited ability to spend money on leisure or take time away from work.

• I may sometimes be able to ask a partner, family member or friend for financial support, although this may not always be available or something I want or am able to rely on.

In an ideal world, I would be able to offer unlimited concession spaces. However, this work needs to provide a sustainable living wage and cover my business expenses.

If my fee doesn't fit your budget, you can find organisations that offer low-fee or free therapy, some of which receive funding to make this possible.

Not necessarily. I work with people from all walks of life with different financial experiences.

Some are working single parents who were left with huge outgoings of debt from a previous spouse and could not afford to go out for a coffee once a month; some are single people whose disability limits their ability to work but don’t qualify for benefits and they sometimes struggle to pay for food; some are working part time but inherited money that means they can go on holiday every year without much financial burden; some are students who are able to access support from parents or from a bursary and are able to go out every Saturday night without financial concern; some are on long-term benefits that cover their rent and bills with some to spare for regular day trips or yoga classes.

The sliding scale is based on financial availability and gives a variety of examples for each band. Please consider it fairly for you, for others and for me.

My hourly rate needs to provide me with a living wage and needs to cover a wide variety of overheads including:

• Training and CPD;

• Professional registrations, including membership and regulatory bodies;

• Insurance, ICO registration and DBS certificates;

• Equipment, art materials, therapeutic tools, furniture;

• Room and Zoom costs;

• Minimum of monthly clinical supervision for each modality;

• Admin and marketing

  
  On my links page, I suggest some organisations and charities who offer low-cost therapy and are able to do so because they receive funding. It is important that you find the right therapy for you.

Therapy might seem risky to an activist and I am very happy to chat about any concerns you may have about this. Some info that might be good to know:

• Therapy is confidential. There are legal limits to confidentiality which we will go through in the consultation.

• You do not have to use your real name if you don’t want to

• You do not need to name others involved in your affinity group, actions etc.

• It’s okay, in fact encouraged, to generalise about actions etc. When working with trauma it is not usually useful to go into any detail, but rather to stick to ‘titles’, until we have worked together and both decided speaking in any detail would be useful at all. So it is not at all unusual to not talk about any details of actions or events. Similarly, you don’t need to give details of future actions.