Counselling and Psychotherapy FAQs

How do I begin?
You can contact me by phone or email and we can have a brief chat about how therapy works and if it is appropriate for you. If I am unavailable to take your call simply leave a message and I will contact you back.

How many sessions will I need?
There is no simple answer to this and will depend on why you are attending therapy. We can discuss this in your first session and you can decide to either leave it open-ended or decide to fix on a number of sessions and then review.

What can I expect in the first session? 
Your first visit may feel a bit awkward and that is completely natural. I would suggest that you approach our first session as if you are window shopping. It is an opportunity for you to meet with me and see if I may be a good fit for you. It is an opportunity to explore what has brought you to therapy and what you would like to gain from it and how you would like to work with me.

Will we have a therapy contract?
Yes. If you decide that you would like to work with me as your therapist we will collaboratively agree your therapy contract. Areas that will be covered include the frequency and duration of sessions, fees including cancellation notice times and cancellation fees, GDPR, and limits of confidentiality. 

Are my therapy sessions confidential?
Counselling and Psychotherapy is almost always a totally confidential service. However, there are certain situations that cannot be kept confidential usually involving concerns about safety and welfare. I follow at all times the IACP code of Ethics and the Irish Child Protection Guidelines. The limits of confidentiality will be explained in careful detail in the first session. 

Frequency and Duration:
Sessions usually take place on a weekly basis and last for approximately 50 minutes

Cost per session: 
65 euros 

Availability: 
I offer flexible day time and evening appointments Monday –Saturday.

Where does the Therapy happen? 
You have a choice of therapy at:
#1: My Therapy Practice Amity Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice, Maynooth
#2: Walk and Talk Therapy at a park in Co Kildare, Laois or Dublin
#3: Online using the secure Zoom Platform.

What is Walk and Talk Therapy?
Walk and Talk therapy combines the benefits of counselling and psychotherapy with the benefits of walking in nature. For some clients they prefer walking alongside their therapist rather than sitting face to face in a room.

What is Hakomi
Hakomi is a body-centered psychotherapy that makes it possible to discover the habitual, automatic attitudes, both physical and psychological, by which we generate patterns of experience. This gentle therapy teaches how to follow the inherently intelligent processes of body and mind to promote healing. Ron Kurtz

What is Polyvagal Theory
A polyvagal approach to therapy is based on the knowledge that our autonomic nervous system is shaped by our early experience and reshaped with ongoing experiences, that habitual response patterns can be interrupted, and that new patterns can be created. When we learn to listen to our autonomic stories we can shape our system toward safety and connection. Deb Dana

What is Internal Family Systems (IFS)
The goal of IFS, an evidence based therapy, is to embody the self and heal our injured parts so that we can live with confidence, guided by curiosity and compassion. Understanding our parts gives us the power to change our inner system. It means that there is an understandable rationale for our behavior, feelings, and attitudes. The possibility for harmonious integration is real. Bonnie J. Weiss

COVID: 
Your safety is my primary concern. For clients who wish to attend in person, my therapy room is sufficiently spacious to allow 2 metre distancing at all times. I ensure that the space is cleaned before and after sessions. There is hand sanitizer and masks available if clients would like to utilise these.

If you would rather walk and talk, we will ensure that there is sufficient distance from one other.

If you don’t feel comfortable to meet in person, there is the option of on-line therapy using the secure zoom platform.