Starting counselling raises a lot of quiet questions, and most people don’t feel able to ask them until they’re already in the room. These are the ones I’m asked most often. If yours isn’t here, call or text me on 07969 547876 and I’ll answer it properly.
Counselling sessions are £45 and last 50 minutes. Volunteers, care workers and key workers pay £40. Reduced rates are also available if you’re on a low income or out of work. Every new client gets a free 20-minute call first, at no cost and with no obligation.
I keep the price on the website rather than asking you to enquire, because working out whether you can afford something shouldn’t require a phone call first.
No referral is needed and there’s no waiting list. You can contact me directly and we’ll usually speak within a few days. Sessions run throughout the week, and there’s no minimum number and no contract, so you can stop whenever you choose.
You don’t need a diagnosis or a crisis to come to counselling. If something feels off, if you’re stuck, or if you’re carrying something you’ve never told anyone, that’s reason enough. Many people wait until things feel unbearable, and most would say they wish they’d come sooner.
There’s a version of this that gets talked about far less: coming while things are still manageable. Building some understanding of yourself before you need it, in the same way you might look after your physical health.
It’s a relaxed phone conversation, not an assessment. You can tell me a little about what’s bringing you to counselling, ask anything you want to know, and get a feel for what I’m like to talk to. There’s no pressure to book afterwards.
Fit matters more than credentials in this work. The call exists so you can find out whether talking to me feels manageable, before you commit to anything.
The first session is mostly about getting a picture of your life and what’s brought you here. I’ll ask some questions, we’ll cover confidentiality and how we’ll work together, and you’ll have space to talk about whatever feels most present. You don’t need to prepare anything or know where to start.
Most people arrive expecting it to be harder than it is. Sitting down and beginning to speak is usually the difficult part, and by the end of the first fifty minutes it tends to feel considerably less daunting than it did in the car park.
Person-centred counselling is client-led, which means the pace, direction and focus of each session are set by you rather than by me. It rests on a belief developed by Carl Rogers in the 1940s: that you already hold what you need, and that being genuinely heard and accepted is what allows it to surface.
I’m not sitting opposite you with a notebook, working out what’s wrong with you and prescribing a fix. There’s no homework and no framework you have to fit into. My work is to listen carefully, reflect honestly, and help you make sense of what sits underneath.
Nothing has to be said in any particular order, and silence is welcome. Some sessions are full of words and others are quieter and more reflective. You won’t be pushed to open up before you’re ready, and you won’t be judged for whatever you bring.
Quite often the thing that matters most surfaces halfway through, once the pressure to perform has worn off. There’s no need to arrive with it ready.
Feeling nervous is entirely normal and it doesn’t get in the way. Walking into a room and telling a stranger something true about yourself is genuinely exposing, and showing up despite that is already something. I’ll hold that nervousness gently rather than trying to talk you out of it.
I work with adults across Cornwall on anxiety, depression and low mood, grief and bereavement, anger, shame, identity and self-worth, confidence, abuse, relationship and family difficulties, redundancy and work stress, and personal development.
I also work with people who can’t name what’s wrong, only that something is. And with people carrying much heavier histories, including addiction, prison and difficult family backgrounds. No story is too small to bring, and none is too much.
There’s no fixed number. Some people come for a handful of focused sessions on one specific thing, others work for months or longer on patterns that go further back. We check in regularly to make sure you’re getting what you need, and you decide when to stop.
After the first session I’ll give you time to consider whether you’d like to continue, and how often. You’re never signed up to anything.
Single Session Therapy is one focused, standalone conversation designed to be complete in itself. It suits people who want to think something through properly without beginning ongoing work, or who’d like to try counselling once before deciding.
You can add further sessions afterwards if you want to, but it’s built to stand alone rather than to lead somewhere.
Most people come weekly or fortnightly, and sessions are usually at the same time each week. Weekly tends to build momentum more quickly; fortnightly gives more room to sit with things between sessions. We’ll work out what suits your life.
Change usually comes gradually rather than dramatically. You might notice you’re less reactive to something that used to catch you, or that the inner critic has lost some of its volume, or simply that you feel lighter walking out than you did walking in.
Bigger shifts tend to come later: recognising your own patterns while they’re happening rather than afterwards, and having more say in what you do next.
Yes. What you say stays between us. I work to the BACP Ethical Framework and UK law, and we’ll go through confidentiality properly in the first session so you know exactly where you stand before you share anything.
There are a small number of exceptions, principally around safeguarding of children or vulnerable adults, terrorism and certain criminal activity. These are rare, and I’d talk to you about any disclosure rather than making one behind your back.
You can talk about them here. Difficult thoughts need somewhere to go, and my response is to stay with you and work out a safety plan together, not to escalate the moment they’re mentioned.
If you’re in immediate danger right now, please contact the Samaritans free on 116 123, at any hour, or call 999. There are more crisis numbers on this page.
I hold a CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling and I’m a registered member of the BACP, registration number 409712. I’m fully insured, hold an Enhanced DBS certificate, and my work is regularly supervised in line with BACP requirements.
I’ve also completed Samaritans Core Training and Mental Health First Aid.
Sessions run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8am to 6pm, with limited availability on Wednesdays. I’m closed at weekends.
Evening and weekend requests come up often and spaces are limited, but it’s worth asking. I can sometimes offer flexibility.
Yes. Online video and telephone sessions are available wherever you are, and cost the same as meeting in person. You need a quiet space, a device you’re comfortable with, and a stable connection for video.
Some people start online because a room feels like too much to begin with, then move to in-person later. Others stay online throughout because it fits their life better. Both work.
My studio is in The Buttermarket on Station Road, Redruth, TR15 2PP. It’s a private space with lift access, a short walk from Redruth train station and bus stop, with paid parking at Fair Meadow Car Park next door.
I see clients from across west and mid Cornwall, including Camborne, Truro, Falmouth, Hayle, St Ives and Penzance.
Then I’ll help you find someone who is. Fit matters enormously in this work, and it isn’t a failure if we’re not it. If I think you’d be better served by a different approach, I’ll say so and point you towards it.
For severe and complex difficulties such as PTSD or psychosis, more specialised support is usually the right route, and I’ll help you identify it.
Call or text me on 07969 547876, or send me a message. We’ll arrange your free 20-minute call from there.
The first step is usually the hardest one. You don’t need to have it worked out before you reach out.