The first session
Almost everybody arrives having rehearsed an opening line, and the rehearsal falls apart in the first four minutes. That is fine and it is not being marked. Here is what the hour is actually made of, so there is nothing left to imagine.
0–5 min
Up the stairs, first door on the left. Nobody is sitting at a desk.
5–10 min
One side of A4, filled in with your counsellor rather than at you.
10–35 min
You talk. We ask short questions. Nobody is typing.
35–45 min
The plan, the number of sessions, and the fee at your band, out loud.
45–50 min
Book, think about it, or say no in the room. All three are ordinary.
Minute 0 to 5
There is no reception and no clipboard. The waiting room is the first door at the top of the stairs and it is usually empty, because we stagger the hours so that people do not meet each other coming and going.
Your counsellor comes out and says your first name. If you are early, sit down; if you are late, come up anyway.
Minute 5 to 10
Your name, a number we may ring and whether it is safe to leave a message on it, your doctor's name if you want us to have it, and one person to contact if we cannot reach you and are worried. That is the whole form.
You can leave any line blank and we will still see you. Nothing on it is shared with anybody without your written say-so.
Minute 10 to 35
The longest part, and the part people dread. You do not have to start at the beginning or in order, and there is no correct amount of detail. If you cry we will not stop you or comfort you out of it.
Nothing is written during this. The note is written in the ten minutes after you leave, and it is short.
Minute 35 to 45
Your counsellor says what kind of work they think this would be, roughly how many sessions people with this usually have, and what it would cost you at the band you have chosen. If they think somebody else here is the better fit, they say that instead.
This is also where you ask whatever you have been holding. Nothing is rude in this ten minutes.
Minute 45 to 50
You can take the next hour there and then, go away and think, or say no while you are sitting in the chair. Saying no costs nothing beyond the session you have just had, and nobody rings you afterwards to change your mind.
If you do book, you leave with a day and a time and the name of the person you will see.
Before the fifty minutes
A telephone call, not a session. Free, and it stays free if you decide against us.
Roughly what is going on, in whatever order it comes out. You do not need a diagnosis, a chronology or a reason it is bad enough.
How long15 minutes, and it is us who ring you.
Whether it is the kind of thing we work with, who here would hold it, what the wait for that person is, and what it would cost at the band you name.
What it costsNothing, and nothing if you then decide against us.
Your first name and a number to ring back on. No card, no deposit, no form and no file until you have decided to come.
If we are not rightWe say so on that call, and give you names.
Asked before a first session
Do I have to know what is wrong before I ring?
No. "Something is off and I cannot name it" is a normal opening and we hear it several times a week. The fifteen-minute call exists to work out what it is, and if it is us you need.
Between one and six weeks, depending on who you need. Every counsellor's current wait is printed on the site and we update it on a Monday.
Do you ask for proof of income for the lower fees?
No. You read the three bands, you choose one, and that is the end of it. No payslip, no form, no conversation about your household unless you want one.
Yes, at any point, and you can ask the practice rather than the person. Ring Marlene and say you would like to move. Nobody will be offended and your fee and band travel with you.