The initial assessment is an opportunity for us to explore the difficulties you want help with. Typically an assessment lasts between one and one and a half hours and I will ask you questions about when the problem started and how you experience the problem now. I will also ask about your life in general and gather information about your background history. This helps me get a better idea of you as a person. I may also ask you to fill in some questionnaires that focus on the symptoms you are experiencing.

 

By the end of the assessment we should have a better idea of why the problem started and what keeps it going. We can then think together about what might be useful in managing the problem, and whether therapy would be useful.

 

If you would like to proceed with therapy, I will let you know how many sessions might be beneficial. Usually I will suggest 6 sessions and then a review. Reviewing at session 6 is useful because it gives us an opportunity to take stock and discuss progress so far.

 

Each client has different needs, but typically I see clients for between 6 and 16 sessions, sometimes longer.