Private Therapy

• I do not work with crisis issues where there is serious risk of harm to someone, such as current suicide attempts or self harm that endangers life. For this it is important to get immediate emergency care – if you or someone you know is in this situation, please call 999 or visit your nearest A&E unit for an urgent assessment.
• Similarly, I do not work with people who for some reason require an inpatient level of care, as I am unable to provide this.
• I would never work with someone to try and change their sexual orientation. This is neither ethical or scientific (see here for more details). Indeed, I am proud of my work with people from LGBTQI+ backgrounds and have a good understanding of the unique challenges and stigma they can experience.

I am based in Leicester, and can offer face-to-face therapy there, or telephone or video therapy appointments nationwide. For teaching and training I travel nationally and internationally.

This links to my name of KindSight. In therapy we will reflect on your difficulties and past, in a compassionate way, to think about what changes we can make going forward in the ‘here and now’. My approach is active, collaborative, and when appropriate with some gentle humour; whilst therapy is about serious and often painful topics, this does not mean that we can’t be creative and have some fun along the way! The backbone of the work is usually Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), but I also draw on other therapy approaches when helpful for the client.

After a free phone or video consultation, we start by having an assessment, where I can learn what your current difficulties are, and get some brief background information (e.g. key relationships and experiences growing up). From this we develop a ‘formulation’, a road-map that tries to encompass the development of your difficulties, what is maintaining them, and possible exit-routes from this based on your strengths. This usually takes 1-2 sessions. If after this we think working together will be helpful in managing your issues, we will then discuss what our therapy plan would be.

The number and format of sessions will depend on your difficulties and the evidence-base for these; most people find after 6-12 weekly sessions they are starting to feel better, and we constantly review this through therapy using different measures of your wellbeing and goals. We end with a review session in which we reflect on the progress you have made, and create a ‘blue-print’ of how you will manage post-therapy as you become your own psychologist! Some people like to have check-in or ‘booster’ sessions a few months after therapy has finished. All sessions are usually 50min long each.

It’s hard to anticipate or answer every question on a website, so there may well be things you want to ask before meeting. Also, if for any reason I don’t think I would be best placed to help you, I would rather direct you to more suitable service options as soon as possible. Finally, it’s nice to have a bit of an idea of who you’re going to meet for both of us, and I find talking on the phone or by video can help with this. We will agree a mutually convenient time for this so we can both be in a quiet, confidential location.

My private therapy fee is £100/session. I offer a discount for students, NHS workers, and others working in the public services (e.g. education, military, emergency services) or voluntary sector (e.g. charitable organisations). If people have private health insurance, they may be able to claim through this. Payment is due after sessions, and can be online, cheque or cash, whichever is easiest for you. If sessions are cancelled less than 48hrs in advance there is a 50% charge to cover costs, as this slot would no longer be able to be offered to someone else due to short-notice.