What therapy actually involves

Usually one or two sessions. We'll talk through what's troubling you, how it started, how it affects you day to day, any previous treatment, and some general background. I'll ask you to complete some questionnaires — partly to understand the detail, partly so we can track whether things are shifting.

We take everything from the assessment and build it into a formulation: an explanation of your difficulties, linked to psychological theory, that makes sense of why they started and what keeps them going. From there we decide together which therapy fits.

Some people find the formulation alone is enough — understanding the pattern is sometimes what unlocks it.

Therapy is collaborative. It isn't something done to you; it's a way of understanding yourself and finding different ways to handle distress. You'll do most of the hard work, and much of it happens between sessions rather than in them. That's the point — it means progress isn't limited to the hour, and the benefits keep working after therapy ends.

Finding the right therapist matters, and the evidence is clear that the relationship itself affects the outcome. If I don't think I'm the right person to help you, I'll say so, and where I can I'll point you towards someone who is.