ABOUT THE INITIAL CONSULTATION AT BANISH THE CROWS – WHAT MIGHT IT BE LIKE AND WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT?

During your first consultation at Banish the Crows I will probably ask more direct questions than I would in a follow-up or ongoing sessions – this is because the first consultation is an opportunity for me to understand your situation, together with you.

I will typically ask questions about you and your life – things like:

• Why you turned to counselling psychotherapy, at this time, and whether you have prior experience of ‘talking therapies’.

• I will ask you some questions about your life because family situations and our relationships with others – past and present, play an important role in determining who we are and how we live as adults. I will also ask about other people who are significant in your life. All of this will help me to understand your relationships and how you relate with others and experience the world.

• Your current feelings, thoughts, and behaviours and what you believe might be causing them and how they are affecting the way that you live your life.

• Any diagnoses given by a doctor; for example, your GP or another more specialist medical professional, such as a psychiatrist, or a ‘clinical formulation’ that describes your experiences or phenomena. A psychologist typically works with formulations.

I will use all this information to better understand your problem. And, whilst I will not make my own ‘formulation’ at the end of your first visit, I will be giving some thought about what I think might be contributing to your difficulties and we will work out together what might help make a difference for you and your life.

Whatever I ask you, it will be with you and your well-being in mind and I will always make sharing a safe experience for you.