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FAQs
We have put together a list of questions that people sometimes have about counselling and psychotherapy, along with our answers.
Support from family and friends we can trust is important when we go through a difficult time. But a professional psychotherapist can offer much more than talking to family and friends. Psychotherapists have years of education and experience. They have been trained to understand and treat complex mental health issues. Psychotherapy is much more than “just talking and listening” Research shows that psychotherapy is effective and helpful.
Psychotherapists can recognise behaviour and thought patterns objectively, more so than those closest to you who may stopped noticing (or perhaps never notice) the behaviour and thought patterns. They would offer remarks and observations similar to those in your existing relationships. However, interpretations from professional psychotherapists may be far more effective due to their timing, focus or your trust in their neutral stance.
Also, you can be more honest with your psychotherapist without concern that anyone else will know about information you disclosed in your sessions as psychotherapists are obliged to protect confidentially of their clients. (There are a very few exceptions where psychotherapists have a duty to inform an appropriate authority, such as if a client is under a serious risk to harm his/her life or someone else.)
The initial consultation (an assessment for psychotherapy or counselling) is an opportunity to discuss with the therapist whether a psychotherapeutic intervention (a psychotherapy treatment or series of counselling meetings) might be appropriate for your difficulty. It will also give you the opportunity to ask the therapist what you need to know about therapy, and whether it can be a correct intervention for you.
The Initial Consultation takes about 50 minutes.
For more information, please see The First Meetings
What is discussed in your therapy is totally confidential. Psychotherapists/counsellors are obliged to protect confidentiality of their clients. There are only very few exceptions where psychotherapists /counsellors have a duty to inform an appropriate authority, such as if a client is under a serious risk to harm his/her life or someone else.
Sometimes a client may feel temporary worse, especially at the beginning of treatment, before he/she start feeling better. You may have repressed or denied many emotions and thoughts about difficult issues or experiences in the past. Talking about them can be very difficult and may be painful. For that reason, you may feel worse. Yet, getting in touch with troubled hidden thoughts and feelings can bring relief as well as opportunities for transformation and growth.
Everything starts with the initial consultation with one of our senior therapists. The therapist will want to understand in some depth the difficulties that are bringing you along, and to construct an appropriate offer based on that to take things forward from there. The consultation will also give you the opportunity to ask the therapist what you need to know about therapy, and whether it can be a correct intervention for you.
For more information about the initial consultation, please see First meetings
An initial consultation is for you to see how you find therapy or the therapist as well as for the therapist to find out more information about you and your difficulties. There is no obligation to seek further arrangements with us if you do not wish to do so.
It is essential to work with a therapy who you can trust in order to form a good therapeutic relationship with the therapist. Having said that, the good therapeutic relationship may take some time to develop. People often feel slightly nervous and anxious to meet their therapist at the first time. You may feel clicked with the therapist in the first meeting. You may take a few sessions to feel comfortable in the consulting room with the therapist. Often people have some intuitive feeling whether it is good to work with the therapist or not.
Should you wish to meet with another therapist at Koan, we are more than pleased to arrange that for you.
You can contact the practice manager, Yoko Kirkpatrick, to discuss any concerns. Yoko is reachable on 020-8252-9532, 07797800711 (SMS only) or mail@psychotherapy.me
Our senior therapists are fully qualified and accredited by major accreditation bodies in the UK, such as, UKCP, BPCP or PBS.
Our junior therapists are working towards their professional accreditation with those organisations.
In general, the terms counselling/counsellor and psychotherapy/psychotherapist are often used interchangeably.
Technically speaking, a counsellor is an advisor. The term “counsellor” is used in conjunction with many types of advice giving. Although the terms “counsellor” and “advisor” are used in conjunction with many types of advice giving, in context of mental health they rarely offer advice. Instead, counsellors guide clients to discover their own answers and support them through a process of going through difficulties. Counselling is generally used to denote a relatively brief treatment focusing on specific problems.
“psychotherapy”, on the other hand”, is usually a longer term treatment aiming at gaining insight into mental or emotional health. It investigates togetherness and a way of being in the world as well as looking at specific problems.
In actual practice, there is some overlap between the two
A psychotherapist may provide counselling with specific issues and a counsellor may function as a psychotherapeutic manner. However, in general psychotherapy requires more skills and a longer and more rigorous training. While a psychotherapist is qualified to provide counselling, a counsellor may not have gone through the necessary training and skills to provide psychotherapy.
All appointments at Koan is in principle once weekly. The appointments are normally at the same time on the same day at weekly intervals. Some senior therapists may occasionally accept once fortnightly meetings.
For people who have work scheduled which compromise their ability to commit to a regular time, we will try to accommodate if we can. In this case, please do let the practice manager (Yoko Kirkpatrick) know prior to booking an initial consultation. You can contact the practice manager, Yoko Kirkpatrick, to discuss any concerns. Yoko is reachable on 020-8252-9532,07797800711 (SMS only) or mail@psychotherapy.me
Appointments with junior therapists under our reduced fee scheme are strictly once weekly.
We offer open-ended treatment. You can work with your therapist as long as you need, but you can end therapy when you feel it is right for you.
It is impossible to predict how many sessions each individual may need. Partly it depends on what you are trying to gain from therapy.
Should you intended to work for limited sessions, please do adivse the therapist so that he/she can conduct meetings with you accordinly.
Yes, of course you can end therapy if and when you wanted. Since the ending is very important part of the therapeutic process, we would always recommend to discuss about it with the therapist prior to stopping your appointments.
We apply for a sliding fee scale for regular appointments for therapy.
The initial consultation for one-to-one therapy is a flat rate of £60.00. The fees for subsequent appointments are usually £70.00-£100.00 per appointment.
The initial consultation for couples therapy is a flat rate of £70.00. The fees for subsequent appointments are £70.00 – £120.00 per appointment.
For life Coaching, we charge a flat rate of £80.00 per appointment.
For more information, please see Our Fees
I am afraid, but we do are not equipped to take credit card payment.
For appointments with our senior therapists/life coaches, please make payment to your therapist by cash directly in the appointment. Alternatively, you can enquire your therapist for his/her bank account details for bank transfer.
For appointments with our junior therapists under our reduced cost therapy scheme, we accept PayPal payment only. You can pay in our PayPal account with a debit/credit card (no need to have your own PayPal account).
In general, our therapists have no problem with payment by insurance firms. Please check your insurance policy with the firm as each firm has its own regulations for psychotherapeutic treatment.
If your appointments are paid by the insurance firm, you are exempted from our sliding fee scale and charged a flat rate of £80.00 per session.
For appointments with our senior therapists (for individual or couples);
Each of our senior therapists has his/her own cancellation policy. Their cancellation policy is published in their profile. Please see their profile page.
For appointments with our junior therapists under our reduced cost therapy scheme;
We require a 48 hours notice prior to the appointment time. This cancellation policy is applicable to any circumstances, including illness, problems with transport. If you failed to provide due notice, the fee is chargeable in full.
For remote theray via Skpe;
We require a 48 hours notice prior to the appointment time. If you failed to provide due notice, the fee is chargeable in full.
For Life Coaching appointments;
Please see you’re the profile of your life coach.
You are welcome to make an enquiry on behalf of your friend or family. However, we do not accept an application from the third party, including a friend or family member. The person who books an initial consultation must be the person who seeks therapy. This is because we see booking your own first appointment is the first step for therapy/counselling. It is part of the process.
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