Frequently Asked Questions

Counselling psychology is a type of applied psychology that can be used to help people gain control of their feelings. This type of psychology focuses on treating individuals with a variety of different emotional, behavioural, and social problems or disorders. Counselling Psychologists deal with a wide range of mental health problems concerning life issues including bereavement, domestic violence, sexual abuse, traumas and relationship issues. They understand diagnosis and the medical context to mental health problems and work with the individual’s unique subjective psychological experience to empower their recovery and alleviate distress (BPS).

• Psychiatrists are medically trained doctors who specialise in Psychiatry. They use a diagnostic system and work from a medical model perspective to understand mental health difficulties. Their treatments often involve some form of medication, and they tend to see people who have more severe and enduring mental health difficulties such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.
• Psychologists start their training receiving an undergraduate degree in Psychology at University. Following this, many gain various work experiences in relevant healthcare settings prior to starting a 3-year Doctoral Programme in a specialised area of Psychology, e.g., Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology, Educational Psychology etc. During this time, they work with clients while under the supervision of an experienced senior psychologist to gain the skills and knowledge to practice psychological therapy with individuals of all ages and with varying presentations. By the time they qualify, they can offer a range of talking therapies for various difficulties including trauma/abuse, OCD, addictions, depression, personality difficulties. Psychologists cannot prescribe medication. They work in different settings depending on their specialty; for example, Counselling Psychologists can be found to work in the NHS, in voluntary or charitable organisations or self-employed in private practice. Many psychologists may also work in academia, lecturing in universities or involved in research.
• Psychotherapists is an umbrella term to describe any mental health professional trained to help individuals overcome emotional and psychological difficulties. Specifically, psychotherapist or counsellor refers to someone who only offers and provides talking therapy such as Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy. Whereas psychologists may provide psychological therapy but may also work in academia or research. Furthermore, ‘psychotherapist’ and ‘counsellor’ are not protected titles by law; this means that anyone can use these professional titles without proving they have received the appropriate qualifications. However, ‘psychologist’ is a protected title by law and all practicing psychologists need to be registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) to provide psychological therapy. Psychologists must adhere to professional practice guidelines and conduct themselves appropriately.

If your difficulties are causing you a considerable amount of distress and this is impacting on your day-to-day functioning including your work, relationships, parenting abilities, etc., then it may be beneficial and helpful for you to see a psychologist. In particular, you may like to make certain changes to your life or accept something you have little control over in order to improve how you feel. This is something we can discuss in more detail in your free initial consultation over the phone prior to agreeing to therapy.

I work on a self-referral basis, so if you feel you need to be seen for psychological therapy, please feel free to enquire about therapy through the contact page. However, I will also accept referrals from GP surgeries or other medical professionals.

Therapy can be provided on a weekly or fortnightly basis depending on your needs and commitments (work, family, social, financial).

Regarding how long someone will attend therapy, this is variable depending on the individual’s desired need and the complexity of their difficulties. I like to review after six sessions and at regular intervals thereafter to see how we are progressing in therapy. During our review processes, we may discuss working towards an ending and tailoring this process to you as sometimes individuals can struggle with the loss of regular therapy. Therefore, it is usually helpful to space out sessions during the ending process to help a person adjust to no longer having weekly/fortnightly sessions. In terms of how many sessions, you may require, this is something we can discuss in the first few sessions during our assessment period. For example, for moderate to severe depression, the NICE guidelines would recommend 16-20 session of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy over the course of 3-4 months. However, depending on the severity of the condition and the client’s level of readiness to engage in therapeutic change, this may be longer or shorter. It really depends on the person and where they are in their life.

NICE guidelines

You can have therapy in person or remotely, depending on your preferences and lifestyle. This will explored and discussed during the 15 minute phone consultation or through email before you start therapy.

At present, I hold an in-person clinic in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, on Fridays; however, other times and dates can be discussed and accommodated depending on availability. Online therapy can be arranged throughout the mornings and afternoons.

Yes. It is best to contact your healthcare provider before you start therapy to check what level of cover they will provide, and to discuss their policy surrounding psychological therapy. I am a Chartered Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland and will provide a receipt after each session.

Everything you say in our sessions is confidential and it is hoped that the therapeutic space will be a safe place for you to disclose your difficulties and explore your distress. However, unfortunately, there are certain occasions in which I may need to break that confidentiality, for example:

If I thought you were at risk to yourself or others such as a vulnerable child or vulnerable adult, then I would need to act on this which may involve speaking with a third party such a family member, your GP, the Police. This is to ensure your safety and the safety of others.
When I explore my therapeutic practice with my supervisor – this process focuses more on the work I am doing with you and you will stay anonymous in this process. Supervision is a professional requirement which I am obliged to engage in regularly.
If I was ordered to disclose information pertaining to our sessions by the court.

If you are able to give 48 hours notice, there is no cancellation fee so please let me know as soon as you can if you need to cancel the session. After this point, cancellations made with at least 24 hours notice will be charged at 50% of the session rate. Cancellations made with less than 24 hours notice will be charged the full rate. Any non-attendance will incur a 100% fee. Once an appointment has been booked it is the sole responsibility of the client to remember their appointment and contact me if they are unable to attend for any reason as per the cancellation policy.

Informal discussions to answer any questions about our services and how we might be able to help prior to booking an appointment are not charged for. Brief telephone contact or emails regarding future sessions or to provide brief support are not charged for.