Sessions & Fees

What to Expect

Babies are welcome at appointments, if this feels comfortable for you. The only exception is trauma processing sessions, the logistics for these will always be discussed with you beforehand.

Initial Assessment Consultation

At the start of a piece of work, we offer an initial assessment session (the first paid session) to develop an understanding of the areas you would like support with, explore the context surrounding your experiences, and begin thinking together about what may be contributing to the difficulties you are facing.

The assessment also gives us the opportunity to start thinking about a potential formulation (see below), what type of psychological therapy may be most helpful, and check that we are the right fit for your needs and preferences. Following the first session, we will continue to ongoing sessions if suitable, for a duration agreed with you.

You can book an initial assessment directly using the booking link at the bottom of this page. If you’re not sure who would be the best fit, or would like to ask a few questions first, book a free 20-minute call via the booking link. Wherever possible, we aim to accommodate day and time preferences and begin without delay. If we are unable to offer suitable availability, or if we do not feel our service is the best fit, we will always aim to recommend trusted alternative professionals or services.

Formulation and Therapy Planning

Based on the information in the assessment, we will start developing a shared understanding of your experiences, offering some initial guidance, and creating a plan for therapy (for more information, please see our leaflet: Understanding Formulation).

Together, we will usually be exploring questions such as:

• What are the current difficulties?

• How can we make sense of them using psychological theory?

• How may these difficulties have developed?

• What factors may be maintaining them?

• What interventions are likely to be most helpful?

At the end of this initial phase, we will discuss recommendations for therapy, some strategies to begin implementing, and an estimated number of sessions that may be beneficial. We aim for this to remain an open and collaborative discussion, recognising that time, energy, and finances can feel particularly stretched during the perinatal period.

Therapeutic Intervention

The intervention phase forms the main part of therapy. This work is guided by the assessment and formulation process and is individually tailored to your needs, goals, and circumstances. Sessions are usually weekly in nature. The focus and likely duration of sessions will be discussed in the initial sessions, and reviewed as sessions progress. Please see our FAQs page for more information.

At times, therapy may feel quite practical; developing and implementing new strategies, reflecting together in sessions, and practising approaches between appointments. Depending on the therapeutic model being used, sessions may feel more structured or more exploratory in nature.

Our clinicians are trained across a range of gold standard evidence-based therapeutic approaches. For examples of some of the therapeutic models we use, please see the Therapies page. Therapy may be short-term and focused over a number of weeks, or longer-term where appropriate. We aim to centre your preferences and therapy goals throughout. For more information, please see our FAQ: How do you choose which therapeutic approach to use?

Ending and Follow-Up

We will regularly review therapy together to ensure that you feel sessions are helpful and aligned with your goals. There is never any obligation to continue for a set number of sessions, and you are free to end therapy at any time.

Towards the end of therapy, we aim to reflect on the work completed, consolidate key learning and strategies, and develop a plan to support you moving forward.