Frequently Asked Questions

I have a BSc in Psychology, a MSc in Clinical Research Methods in Psychology, and a postgraduate diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapies from the University of Bolton, accredited by the BABCP, which demonstrates that it meets its quality standards.

I work with a range of common mental health problems, including people with depressive episodes, longstanding depression, post-natal depression and many anxiety disorders including panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, health anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and anxiety disorder. We have also worked with body dysmorphic disorder, various phobias and self-esteem and perfectionism. At times I work with people who don’t have a defining mental health problem and we work in a more goal orientated way or sometimes even a preventative way.

Your journey starts with a free, no-obligation 15 minute telephone consultation. This allows you to discuss your goals for therapy, ask any initial questions and get a feel for whether CBT Runcorn is right for you.

A standard session lasts 50 minutes and is £75 per session.

Longer sessions may be recommended for specific pieces of work, and prices for these sessions may vary. This will always be discussed and agreed with you beforehand.

After your consultation, the starting point of therapy is an initial 90-minute CBT assessment which is charged at £110.

Discounts are available for sessions which are block booked, and can be discussed at the end of the assessment process.

I do work with insurance providers including Aviva, Axa and Bupa, if you’re covered by a different provider, please mention this in your contact and it is something we can explore together

Think of therapy as a temporary investment of time and money that has the potential to create outcomes which could last a lifetime, making for a happier and healthier you.

I am passionate about helping those in distress and would like to work towards a mutually beneficial solution with you. Please discuss any concerns you have about affording the sessions and we can see if we can work out a solution.

This really depends on your needs and preferences, but I can give you an idea of whether I think short-term or longer-term sessions will be helpful after our initial appointment.

Purchasing your own therapy sessions allows you to have more control over how long therapy lasts. CBT is goal orientated which means therapy is often completed within 3-6 months, and is typically between 6 and 20 sessions. I also have some clients who find the therapy space so valuable they choose to carry on for longer. Often people ending therapy will continue to have check-ins every 4 - 6 months if required.

Success in therapy depends on many different factors aligning for the best outcome. We can set therapy up in a way to give it the best chance to succeed, honestly, openly and transparently.

It is important to remember that no psychological intervention is ever 100% effective for everyone, so we can’t guarantee that therapy is going to entirely cure your current problem. That being said, the majority of clients get something positive out of therapy, even if it doesn’t solve everything. Therapy can also give you helpful tools and insight to continue your self-development beyond the therapy room.

If CBT isn’t providing benefit, we’ve explored reasons why this may be and have been unable to work through this, we may suggest ending therapy or taking a break, as it can be unhelpful to continue without taking time to consolidate and reflect.

Usually, it is helpful to have more frequent sessions earlier on in therapy. As you start to develop skills in self-therapy, sessions will become less frequent.t the end of therapy, you may just require occasional check-ins.

What this looks like in practice is not set in stone. It is possible to have numerous sessions a week if there is a need, or if this feels too intense, sessions can be weekly, fortnightly or even monthly.

We can also work to a budget and tailor a plan to suit your needs.

It can be hard to gain momentum with therapy at the beginning if the sessions are happening only occasionally.

Research demonstrates no significant differences between remote and face-to-face therapy. Reflect on your own individual preference, as both remote and face-to-face therapy have their advantages and drawbacks, which will differ from person to person.

With some presenting problems, it may be advisable to focus on a specific modality and may be recommended so you can make an informed choice. We can also move between different types of therapy delivery.

First, we start with a brief initial telephone consultation. This is free-of-charge and the aim is to give you a chance to ask any questions, start to get to know your therapist and clarify your aims and goals of therapy or your main problems. At this point, you are under no obligation to continue if for any reason it doesn’t feel right for you.

If you decide to go ahead, a CBT assessment will be required. Typically, this is a 90-minute session where we will talk in more detail about your problem.

In this assessment, a lot of questions will be asked, intended to get further information which will inform the best way to apply CBT to meet your goals. This assessment can be in person, telephone or via video therapy. At times, if you have a more complex problem, further assessment sessions may be suggested to fully grasp your problem. Assessment sessions, as they are longer, are charged differently to the standard 50-minute session.

At the end of the assessment, you will be provided with a summary of how CBT may be able to help with a treatment plan. This is a working guide and not set in stone, and we can change our goals as we are working in therapy.

Following this, if you are still interested in going ahead, therapy sessions will be booked. These are standard 50-minute sessions where we will be working towards an agreed treatment plan. We can book one session at a time or block book sessions. A standard 50-minute CBT session tends to follow a set structure. We start by agreeing an agenda for the session, followed by a brief mood review of the time between appointments. We then review any in-between session tasks and how they have been going, adding anything to the agenda that needs to be covered based on the in-between session tasks. We then will likely have one or two CBT related agenda items and finish the session by agreeing further in-between session tasks and reviewing the session, discussing what worked and didn’t work about the session.

As therapy progresses, sessions tend to get more spread out, moving into fortnight, monthly and maybe even bi-monthly sessions. When we both feel like we have come to the end of therapy, we will complete a few sessions where we will try and bring the therapy together in a therapy blueprint, which will contain all the information you need for continued self-practice outside of the therapy.

Even after therapy has finished, you can contact and book further ad hoc sessions as needed. These will typically be standard 50-minute sessions. However, if there is more to cover, we may do a new assessment to assess if more in-depth work is needed.

As standard, GP information and a next-of-kin is required.

Neither will be contacted unless there is a risk to you or others. This is detailed in the confidentiality policy, which you will receive a copy of at the start of therapy.

An in-depth assessment or therapy review letter can be provided to your GP for an additional cost.

Letters to confirm the receipt of and outcome of therapy are not provided as standard.

The BABCP or British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies is a professional body which provides a minimum standard of care in relation to CBT and related therapies.

In order to state that you are accredited with the BABCP, you must meet a number of criteria as a minimum.

These are standards in education, training, supervision, work experience and other areas of personal development.

Additionally, the BABCP accredits CBT courses to ensure it meets a quality standard. This allows you to see the quality of therapist and the quality of the training they have received.

More information can be found here: https://www.babcp.com/.

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please give at least 24 hours notice.

Appointments can be rescheduled free-of-charge. However, any non-attended appointments with less than 24 hours notice or no contact will be charged at the full session price.

If you are unable to attend in person but can attend a remote appointment, please contact us and we will be able to go ahead.