Questions and Answers

Yes, I provide counselling/Psychotherapy via Skype, Zoom or similar digital media platforms. I offer reduced fees for online therapy, payment to be made in advance via PayPal or bank transfer.

I charge €60 for 60 minutes and €80 per couple for 90 minutes. Individuals who are fully employed with a decent salary or other resources are expected to pay the full session fees; however, in certain circumstances I may take a sympathetic view for those who are under-employed or on very low wages and offer a reduction in fees. I take the question of providing accessible fees very seriously and assess each person's situation on a case-by-case basis. Fees for online counselling (Skype for example) are reduced to €50 with payment made in advance via bank transfer or PayPal.

There is a lot of overlap between counselling and psychotherapy but there are some important differences. Some clients begin with counselling and stay on for psychotherapy if they are getting the support that they need and want. Counselling is usually shorter term, lasting anything up to about 12 weeks, while psychotherapy can last from several months to several years, depending on the client. In counselling, the therapist is mainly focussing on the client’s immediate needs and conscious processes, that is the thoughts, emotions and situations that they are already aware of in their lives. In psychotherapy, the therapist is also addressing issues that arise from outside the client’s immediate awareness and that offer a deeper understanding of their apparently contradictory feelings, thoughts, desires, actions or relationships. Psychotherapy is usually experienced as being both more challenging and more satisfying to clients who are interested in resolving deeper or more complex personal issues and patterns of behaviour. For example, most people come to therapy with a specific problem, such as a marriage break-up for example. Getting you through the break-up, the “what to do” or “how to cope” stage is largely the task of counselling and it's where clients are likely to begin. “WHY” your marriage broke up; what was your part in it; how is this a pattern you have played out in other relationships; and how does this failed relationship relate to unconscious patterns of which you may be unaware [such as wanting closeness, but pushing people away at the same time]...these much broader and larger questions are the domain of psychotherapy.
Another way of thinking about it is this: if your house is on fire,then the first thing you need to do is to put the fire out. You are not too concerned at this stage as to how or why it started or how to prevent it happening again, (This is the domain of counselling), but once the fire is out,well now you can begin the process of discovery and look for all the factors that contributed to the blaze in the first place. Then you can start to work on what needs to be changed, improved or worked on to prevent it re-occuring again, (That’s the process of psychotherapy). Both counselling and psychotherapy are based on trust, respect for difference, empathetic listening and understanding, non-judgmental acceptance and, of course, confidentiality.

The key benefits of counselling and psychotherapy include greater self-understanding, increase in self-confidence and self-acceptance so that, even if our lives have been difficult to-date or that we’ve made poor choices in the past, we can take better control of our lives and exercise "choice" in how we deal with issues from our past which may still be impacting negatively in our lives. The personal transformation which often occurs in clients through therapy has a direct and positive influence on how we continue to lead our lives as adults. This can bring a greater sense of freedom and independence, enhanced self-regard, greater capacity for forgiveness, greater motivation to care for one’s own wellbeing and safety, greater clarity in following own’s own values and goals in life rather then those imposed by others, more confidence in expressing one’s real needs and emotions, richer relationships, enhanced creativity and expression in life as well a spiritually more fulfilled life experience.

I charge the full fee for missed appointments cancelled 48 hrs or less before it’s due as I can't give this time to anyone else. For appointments cancelled more than 48hrs before the scheduled time I will do my best to rearrange that appointment for the earliest convenient time to suit both my and the clients availability and within that week if possible or at the very least within 7 days of the cancelled scheduled appointment.

Psychotherapy does not fit the stereotype of someone lying on a couch staring at the ceiling and endlessly blaming their parents and others for the misery of their lives. It is not just a 'big moan' session after session. Instead, it is a process of self-discovery--of which our relationship to our parents is but one of many relationships that have shaped our lives. In psychotherapy, it is vital to understand our family of origin, because how people connected (or frequently didn't connect) with each other and how they loved or hurt each other, leaves a memory imprinted in each of us. These early relationships will influence how we relate across subsequent important relationships throughout our lives. If we are conscious of these patterns, we can work with them, change the dynamic, and potentially avoid recreating them. If we are unconscious of our patterns, we are in fact doomed to repeat them.

Mostly we manage to cope with problems when they arise by sharing them with friends or family or seeking the support of like-minded people. Sometimes this is all we need but there are times when we can feel that we are in a crisis, that we have exhausted the support and advice of friends and family or that we cannot fully confide in them for fear of the consequences. In situations like these, it can be a relief to talk to a qualified and experienced professional who has no other role in one’s life except to support you to care for your emotional health and wellbeing. Psychotherapists are also skilled in dealing with client's distressing or disturbing feelings, thoughts and experiences in ways that allow for safe and appropriate expression. This kind of expression can bring clients release and recovery from old hurts and help them move on in life.

Psychotherapy and counselling can involve different forms of expression. When the client is struggling for words or feelings, it can be helpful to use other forms of communication, such as art, free writing, role-play, movement, body awareness, dreams and images. These ways of exploring our inner life can often get to the heart of what we are experiencing more directly and creatively than talk alone. Humour, compassion and imagination can go a long way in the healing process.

It is entirely determined by you. Some people work with a therapist on a specific problem--such as a bereavement or relationship split up for example. This work is often very focused, and occurs over a relatively short period of time. Others looking to explore deep-seated, largely unconscious patterns will find that their therapy usually corresponds to how long the work they are doing is effective and continues to lead them in a helpful direction. However, the goal of every psychotherapist is to 'lose' their clients--ending well is the question. I see psychotherapy as a process which is co-created: I work to facilitate our inter-dependence within a healing alliance as well as maintain the primacy of a client's independence as a unique, autonomous individual.