Working Together

What to Expect from Counselling and Hypnotherapy

Choosing to work with a counsellor is a personal decision, and it is important that you have a clear idea of what to expect before you begin.

At Happy Hatching Mind, the aim is to offer a space where you can explore what is happening for you, at a pace that works for you, without being reduced to a diagnosis or a problem to be fixed.

Our work will be collaborative. I won't tell you what you should do or make decisions for you. Instead, I will help you explore your thoughts, feelings, experiences and choices so that you can develop your own understanding and find your own way forward.

How can sessions take place?

I offer several different ways of working, and we can discuss which is most appropriate for you.

Face-to-face sessions

Face-to-face work can take place:

• in my counselling room (Sundon Park, Luton)

• by telephone or online (Google Meet) where appropriate

• outdoors, as therapeutic walking sessions.

Outdoor sessions are available for counselling but not for hypnotherapy.

For outdoor sessions, we will agree the route and consider relevant risks before we begin. You will have the opportunity to review and agree the arrangements before the session takes place.

Online sessions

Online counselling can include:

• telephone sessions

• instant messaging sessions

• email counselling.

Online work can be particularly convenient because there is no need to travel to an appointment. Email counselling also allows you to write at a time that suits you, with an agreed time for a response.

Not every situation is suitable for online counselling. If I believe that another form of support would be more appropriate, we will discuss this together and, where possible, I will help you identify an alternative.

Happy Hatching Mind is not a crisis service, and online counselling is not offered where someone is experiencing an immediate crisis.

What can counselling help with?

People come to counselling for many different reasons. This might include:

• anxiety and stress

• depression and low mood

• relationships and family difficulties

• bereavement and loss

• loneliness

• self-esteem and confidence

• experiences of abuse

• eating difficulties

• discrimination

• questions around sexuality or identity

• pet bereavement

• difficult life changes

• experiences that are difficult to make sense of

• or simply feeling that things are not quite right.

You do not necessarily need to arrive knowing exactly what you want to work on. Sometimes understanding what is happening is part of the work itself.

I also offer counselling to children and young people. Where a child or young person is accessing counselling, appropriate parental or parental-responsibility arrangements will be discussed before sessions begin.

What happens when we first meet?

Your first appointment is an initial assessment and costs £25.

There is no expectation that you will book further sessions. The first meeting gives us an opportunity to talk about what has brought you to counselling, what you would like help with and whether I am appropriately trained and experienced to support you.

It is also an opportunity for you to decide whether I am someone you would like to work with.

If we decide to continue, subsequent sessions are £50.

Sessions will normally take place at an agreed regular time each week, although this can be discussed depending on the type of support you are receiving.

We will review our work together approximately every six sessions. This gives us an opportunity to consider how things are progressing and whether the way we are working continues to meet your needs.

Confidentiality

What you share in counselling is treated confidentially.

There are, however, some circumstances where information may need to be shared. These include situations involving significant concerns about someone's welfare or safety, safeguarding concerns, serious risk, or where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

I also undertake regular professional supervision. This is an important part of responsible counselling practice and allows me to reflect on my work and consider how best to support clients. Any discussion of your work in supervision is anonymised wherever possible.

You will be given more detailed information about confidentiality, safeguarding and information sharing before you begin counselling.

Your privacy and information

Your personal information and counselling records are handled in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.

Records are kept securely and only accessed when necessary for legitimate professional purposes. Information is not shared simply because someone asks for it.

Different forms of online communication have different privacy considerations, and these will be discussed with you before you begin online or email counselling.

You will receive more detailed information about how your information is collected, stored, used and retained as part of the counselling agreement.

Appointments, cancellations and lateness

Counselling works best when there is a clear and consistent framework around our sessions.

If you need to cancel, I ask for 24 hours' notice wherever possible. Cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice are charged at half the usual session fee.

If you are more than 15 minutes late, I may not be able to offer the remainder of the appointment and we will need to arrange another session.

If lateness or missed appointments becomes a recurring issue, we can talk about whether a different appointment time or arrangement would work better.

Alcohol and substances

Sessions cannot take place if you attend under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

This is particularly important where there may be concerns about your immediate wellbeing or the safety of yourself or others.

Keeping appropriate boundaries

The counselling relationship is a professional relationship designed around your needs.

This means that we will maintain appropriate boundaries around communication, social media, contact outside sessions and the sharing of personal information.

Boundaries are not intended to create distance. They provide a clear framework within which we can work together professionally and effectively.

Safeguarding

I have professional responsibilities relating to the welfare and protection of children and adults at risk.

If a safeguarding concern arises during our work, I will take it seriously and consider what action is appropriate. Wherever possible, I will discuss concerns and information sharing with you, although there may be circumstances where information needs to be shared without your agreement.

You can read more about how safeguarding is approached at Happy Hatching Mind on the Safeguarding page.

Professional standards

I am a member of the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) and the International Society of Psychotherapy & Counselling (ISPC) and work in accordance with their relevant ethical standards.

I undertake regular professional supervision and continuing professional development as part of maintaining my practice.

Holidays and breaks

I take periods of annual leave throughout the year, including longer breaks around Easter, August and Christmas.

Where possible, I will give you advance notice of planned holidays so that we can consider any impact on your sessions.

We can also discuss planned breaks that you may need to take.

If I can no longer work with you

I have a Clinical Will in place should I become unable to continue practising because of serious illness, injury or my death.

The arrangements are designed to ensure that appropriate professional support is put in place and that your information and records continue to be handled confidentially and in accordance with professional requirements.

Ending counselling

Counselling does not have to continue indefinitely.

As our work progresses, we will review whether counselling is still useful to you and what you would like to achieve. When you feel ready to finish, we can plan the ending together and consider any future challenges, resources or strategies that may be helpful.

You are always welcome to discuss ending counselling with me.

Before you begin

After your first session, you will be asked to complete a History Collection & Agreement Form.

This contains the more detailed information about:

• how we will work together

• confidentiality and its limits

• safeguarding

• fees and cancellations

• data protection

• communication methods

• professional boundaries

• emergencies

• your responsibilities and my responsibilities.

The purpose of this information is not to overwhelm you with paperwork. It is to make sure that we both understand how our work together will operate before we begin.

If you have any questions about any part of the agreement, please ask. You should never feel that you have to agree to something you do not understand.