We offer a free 30 minute phone consultation as we feel it’s really important for us to get to know each other a bit first. You’ve been looking for a counsellor in Cornwall, London or Northamptonshire – you might have come directly through our website or it could have been through the Counselling Directory or the BACP. You can then decide to contact us by phone, text, email or via our contact form.
Lisa or I will respond to you as quickly as we can to set up the initial free phone consultation -it’s really useful for you and us to find out a few things about each other before embarking on a therapeutic relationship:
Getting To Know Us
You may not be sure what to expect from a counsellor but it’s important to note that not one size fits all. You need to find someone that you feel comfortable with. A sense of humour might be important to you so that there can be lighter moments during the therapy. It might be the tone of voice, or the way we ask questions that might be important to you. You might want to check our credentials – know what we have trained in or have lived experience of. Or it might be the pace of the therapy – that you need to go gently if there’s been a lot of trauma, for example. A good therapist can respond to any requests from you without feeling nettled or defensive – you have come to a non-judgemental space and we will respect that.
Questions We Might Ask You
We like to know where you found us, what was it about us that made you contact us specifically and why you want to have counselling.
This call isn’t the time for you to unpack everything. You can give us as little or as much info about what has brought you to therapy but it’s important that you make sure you are not going to re-traumatise yourself. People sometimes think that coming to therapy means speaking about everything traumatic that has happened to them. It can take months or even years for some people to feel that they trust their therapist enough to tell them about something very difficult. We respect that and so our questions will be framed in a way to find out the bare bones of what you would like to bring. Our questions will tend to be gathering basic information and we might ask you about coping strategies such as exercise, meditation or alcohol or substance misuse as this helps us to build a bigger picture of you and what is going on in your life.
Questions You Might Ask Us
For someone who is neurodivergent and worried about transitions and sensory difficulties, this can be a great opportunity for you to ask about our therapy room, for example, what is the lighting like, do we have incense or smelly candles, what are the timings and anything else that might be on your mind.
If you’re anxious about meeting us for the first time, it’s OK for you to let us know and tell us what would make things easier. We even offer hybrid sessions if you want to meet face to face first then switch to online or vice versa. We can’t promise everything but it’s important that you feel able to ask us to see what we can offer instead, no matter how silly you might think it is!
At The End Of The Call
Towards the end of the call we will ask you if you would like to go ahead and book a session. If you are feeling comfortable and happy then we can move forward with getting a date in the diary. If you have reservations but aren’t sure – you can still book a (paid) session and if after that session you decide it’s not right for you, then you are free to end sessions at any point.
However, if you decide at the end of the phone call we are not the right fit for you, then it’s also OK to let us know.
Equally there may be something that you want to bring to therapy that we are not currently able to support you with. We would let you know at that point and either signpost you to someone who can help or recommend a charity in Cornwall or the UK with specific mental health support in place to suit you.
Get in touch
Contact us to see how we can help and book your free 30 minute phone consultation