If you have a mental illness, see a therapist face to face. If you have thoughts of suicide, hurting yourself or others, consult your GP or visit
www.samaritans.org.uk
For virtually all problems there are no quick fixes. I don't pretend to offer quick fixes with e-mail counselling. It would be unprofessional for me to attempt to make decisions for you. I will correspond with you about how to think through issues in order to make a decision that is right for you and possibly offer you techniques to help you to do that too.
This is not 'counselling by proxy' therefore I am unable to counsel other people through you. I am unlikely to be able to help you via e-mail if your problem is long-term, deep-rooted, unspecified (i.e. no obvious causes), or clinical depression. In these cases, you need good face-to-face interaction with me where I can offer a safe confidential environment.
Please don't hide potentially relevant information as it is essential that I know early on if you are already in professional counselling from another source as it would be unethical for me to counsel you in this case.
The first response by e-mail will let you know if I am available to help you. In order to proceed I will ask you to pre-book your next session at a cost of £20 by clicking on the Pay Now button above.
Please do not make a payment until I have agreed to counsel you, and after you have submitted the relevant information I request.
E-mail counselling is extremely advantageous in the following situations:
It is a more affordable alternative to conventional face-to-face therapy.
You have a disability, suffer from shyness, agoraphobia, or other factors.
You are in a remote area or country and cannot drive.
You are not available for regular therapy because of the hours you work or because you are often travelling abroad on business.
If you access the net on your laptop or other portable device, you can continue with e-mail counselling from almost anywhere in the world even if you are travelling.
You can make use of time (e.g. during the night) when you would not normally contact a therapist.
You are new to counselling and therapy and want to explore it first using this method.
My e-mail counselling is not suitable for ‘counselling by proxy’. If you are not the actual client, but you are a well-meaning spouse, partner, relative or friend, I cannot discuss in depth or become in involved in the other person’s problems, even if you pay my fee. I can only communicate directly with the would-be or actual client.
E-mail counselling is an adequate method of helping you work through some of your feelings and thoughts and encourage and develop change for you. It can also be a way of supplying a client with the latest techniques in personal development. It can be effective in helping you take control of your life in a productive way.
It is widely accepted that writing can be used therapeutically. Keeping a journal and undertaking various written exercises or homework, are sometimes used in therapy. The very act of writing can help you organise your thoughts, develop focus and clarify your feelings.
Psychotherapy and counselling usually involves a face-to-face encounter. In e-mail counselling the written word is the only form of communication and therefore non-verbal cues, such as voice tone, expression and gesture, are absent, so for the therapeutic relationship to develop, both parties must be able to use written English. It is irrevelant if your written english is not perfect, so long as you can express yourself. I will not criticise your language skills, though I might ask you to clarify a point if it is not clear to me what you mean.
I have experience counselling clients from all religious backgrounds and persuasions and some people with no belief in spirituality at all.
I also work with people who have differing sexual orientation. I respect a person’s beliefs and life-style and work within or alongside them. However, generally speaking, the more broad-minded and tolerant a person is of other attitudes, situations and beliefs, the more successful the counselling relationship and outcome is likely to be.
The more ‘orthodox’ or ‘fundamentalist’ the client, the more they are likely to resist change and find it difficult, partly because they believe that, having the `right` beliefs, they are superior. Such an attitude is not a good indicator of successful therapy.
E-mail counselling is not:
An emergency service
Suitable for those in crisis who need face-to-face help
Suitable for those with severe personality disorders such as: schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder or clinical depression
Suitable for the individual with suicidal thoughts
Suitable for anyone under the age of 18
Confidentiality is assured except in the instance where the practitioner is required to break that confidence by the law.