what happens next ? 

Please call me on 01423 206086, or contact me by email gill@harrogate-counselling.co.uk for an informal discussion. If I cannot take your call, please leave me a confidential voice-mail and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Based on what we discuss, we would either organise an initial meeting, or I may be able to suggest other contacts who could provide specific help and advice. See below for more details about this initial session, how any on-going sessions would be organised, how long I would typically work with a client for, typical time-scales and information about my fees.

initial session
Our initial meeting would be very informal and would normally last for one hour. What happens during the first session will depend upon the age of the child or young person:

for children aged approximately 13 or younger, parent(s) or carer(s) will need to attend so that I can gain written consent. It is important that I gather appropriate information about the family background and an understanding of the issues being brought to counselling.
 
Sometimes parents/carers prefer to have the initial session with the counsellor alone, so that they can be open about the situation. During the first session of counselling with the child I would then explain to them using appropriate terminology "what I know about you".
 
Equally, some parents/carers may be happy to speak in front of their child about what their circumstances are. Either approach is fine – the most important thing is that I gain a clear understanding of the situation.
 
for older children (usually aged 14+), it is usually only necessary for a  parent/carer to be available for the first 10 minutes of the first session in order to sign a consent form. It is then up to the young person if they feel able to describe their situation, or if they would prefer their parent/carer to give details.
 
what happens then ?
on-going sessions
I will organise on-going counselling sessions - usually lasting for an hour, but this depends on the age and attention span of the child. Ideally, sessions should take place on a weekly basis, certainly at the beginning of the counselling process. I have found that by attending regular hourly sessions, young people can achieve more than if they just attend on an ad hoc basis. Sessions are normally arranged after school, between 4 and 7pm.  

Obviously there may be times when they are unable to make their session and
I will look to accommodate any changes if possible.

setting goals and agreeing a plan
During the initial sessions, it is important to help the young person work out how they are feeling and to identify what they would like to change in their lives. Together we can then set goals and formulate a plan of how these goals may be achieved. During on-going sessions we will then regularly review progress and adjust this plan as necessary. 

feedback and confidentiality
I make an agreement with them that I will not share anything we talk about during our sessions with anybody else. Equally, I let them know that it’s completely up to them who they choose to share anything with. This means
that I do not report back to parents, schools or to any to other organisation.
However, if there is a child protection issue, I will have to report to the
appropriate authorities.

I understand that parents/carers may be anxious to know that their child is making progress. I will always speak to parents about progress in general terms without breaking my confidence with the child, or speaking about specific details of the session. For children’s counselling to be successful, the child must have a place to talk openly without having to be mindful of anyone else’s feelings, and to be confident that it will not be reported back.

time-scales
In my experience, it usually takes between 4 to 8 sessions to reach the goals set and for ‘counselling’ to be over, but each case is individual.

my fees
All my sessions are charged at £50 per hour and normally last for 1 hour.
However, for younger children, an hour may be too long, so I may suggest 45 
minute sessions and these would be charged at £40.

Please see the client information page for further information.