Frequently Asked Questions

Send a brief enquiry through the contact form and choose either a free 15-minute call or an initial assessment. The 15-minute call is the usual starting point: it is a short, no-obligation conversation to discuss what brings you to therapy and whether working together feels right. If you already know you want to begin, or you are using private health insurance, you can request an initial assessment directly.

The initial assessment is a structured 50-minute session in which we explore what has brought you to therapy, the history and pattern of the difficulty and what you would like to be different. We agree a shared understanding of the problem and a plan for the work, including frequency and duration, which are agreed individually and reviewed together. You are not committing to a course of therapy by attending an assessment.

Please keep it brief. A sentence or two about what you are looking for is enough. The enquiry form is not a secure clinical record and is not the place for detailed personal history or sensitive disclosures — those belong in session, where they can be held properly. If in doubt, say less rather than more and we can talk it through.

No. I work individually with adults aged 18 and above. If you are looking for support for a child or adolescent, your GP or a service specialising in children and young people will be better placed to help, and I am happy to point you towards where to start.

The frequency and duration of therapy are agreed individually and reviewed together. We consider your goals, circumstances and progress, and adapt the plan where appropriate.

I work integratively, which means I draw on several evidence-based models rather than applying one to everyone. In practice that usually includes cognitive behavioural therapy and its third-wave developments (ACT and compassion-focused therapy), EMDR for trauma, and psychodynamic thinking where early experience and relational patterns are central. The approach is chosen to suit the presentation, and I will explain the reasoning rather than simply applying a method.

Yes. I offer secure online sessions across the UK, alongside in-person clinic appointments in London and Surrey. Online therapy is well evidenced and works effectively for most presentations, including EMDR and behavioural addiction work. Some people find in-person work suits them better, and we can discuss which is likely to serve you best.

A counselling psychologist holds a professional doctorate and is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, a statutory regulator. The title 'practitioner psychologist' is legally protected; the title 'counsellor' is not. Doctoral training combines psychological research with therapeutic practice across multiple models, which is particularly relevant for complex or co-occurring presentations. This is a difference in training and regulation, not a judgement about individual practitioners.

Behavioural addiction describes compulsive patterns of behaviour — gambling, gaming, problematic internet or pornography use, compulsive shopping — that continue despite harm and become difficult to control. Diagnostic frameworks treat these categories differently and clinical opinion varies. What matters in therapy is the pattern itself: what maintains it, what it is doing for you, and what it is costing you.

Before retraining as a psychologist, I worked as a producer in the videogame and software industry. That means I understand how reward schedules, progression systems and engagement mechanics are deliberately designed, and I can explain what is happening without treating the difficulty as a personal failing. Understanding that these environments are engineered tends to reduce shame, which in turn makes change more achievable.

Psychological therapy does not treat physical disease and does not replace medical care. What it can do is address the substantial psychological burden that chronic conditions carry — the anxiety, low mood, grief and identity change — and support practical skills such as pacing, habit reversal and nervous system regulation. I have specialist NHS experience in psychodermatology and in post-Covid and multi-system conditions, and I work alongside medical teams rather than in place of them.

No. This practice does not provide crisis, emergency or out-of-hours support, and the website and enquiry form are not monitored for urgent contact. If you are in immediate danger or distress, call 999, attend your local A&E, contact your GP or NHS 111, or call the Samaritans free on 116 123 at any time.

The initial 15-minute telephone conversation is free. A 50-minute assessment costs £170. Standard 50-minute appointments cost £170–£200, with the fee agreed before booking. The EMDR appointment length and fee are confirmed before booking. Full details are on the fees page.

I currently accept Bupa, WPA and Vitality Health. If you intend to use private health insurance, please have your provider details and authorisation code available when you make contact, as most insurers require authorisation before the first session.

I hold a small number of concession spaces for students, trainees and people facing significant financial constraint. Availability is limited and changes over time, so please ask during the initial call rather than assuming a space is open.

Sessions cancelled or rescheduled with less than 48 hours' notice are charged at the full session fee. This is standard practice and exists so that appointment slots remain available to people who need them. The policy is explained in full in the therapy agreement before we begin.

Yes, within the limits that apply to all HCPC-registered practitioner psychologists. The principal exceptions are a serious risk of harm to you or another person, certain legal requirements such as a court order, and safeguarding duties concerning children or vulnerable adults. I discuss my clinical work in supervision, which is itself confidential and is a professional requirement. All of this is set out in the therapy agreement at the start.

Enquiry details are used only to respond to your request and are handled in line with the privacy notice and UK data-protection law. I collect the minimum needed to reply safely. Vercel, Neon, Resend and Cloudflare process limited data where needed to host, store, deliver or protect the form; the practice does not sell enquiry data. This is also why the form asks you to keep your message brief rather than describing sensitive history.

Yes. You can ask for a copy of the information held about you, ask for it to be corrected, or ask for it to be deleted, subject to the clinical record-keeping obligations that apply to registered practitioners. The privacy notice explains how to make a request and what the retention periods are.