Individual therapy with Ruth Calland

Therapy is extra help with the way you are already coping with your problems and issues. It is about looking at the way you think and feel about things, with the support of someone who is trying to understand your point of view. In addition, a therapist can offer new ways of thinking about your issues. My own way of doing this often involves making connections between things, that you might not have seen as connected before; (see the section ‘What kind of therapy?’ for more on this). Because there is somebody supporting you, it can become more possible to let out feelings that you may have been bottling up – or not even have known were there. This can help, because the energy that it takes to keep a lid on things can then be put to better use. It can be a journey of self-discovery, and this can be exciting. It can also be worrying, cause anxiety, and be challenging. Therefore it’s important that you feel able to choose what you want to bring up, and the pace we go at.

Therapy begins with a consultation. This is for you to let me know why you’re looking for therapy, and what you’re hoping to get out of it. If you don’t know what the problem is, eg you just feel low and don’t understand why, then that’s fine too. We can think about what therapy might be like for you, and what sort of area to focus on initially. It also gives you a chance to ask any questions that you want to about therapy and about my practice.

If we decide to proceed, then a weekly time will be set aside for you. The sessions are 50 minutes long, although the initial consultation can be up to an hour. I prefer to meet face to face but will consider working online if needed.