Many people ask what happens when they first come for counselling or psychotherapy and the only real answer is that it depends on what they have come to me for, some of the things will be much the same for everyone though. First of all, after making contact by phone, email or text message, we will arrange a date and time to have an initial meeting in which I would first take some contact details about you and then take some time to get to know a little about each other and for you to ask any questions you might have about me. If you are happy to do so during this session you can tell me why you feel that you need counselling. After this meeting, if you choose to work with me, we will make arrangements to meet again for further sessions and at your own pace, we would start to talk about what is bothering you. Some people and some issues can be helped with short term, focused work while some people prefer to take longer, and some issues themselves can take longer to work through. This is something we can talk about during the initial session or at any time in your therapy. Ultimately counselling and psychotherapy is about working through your issues and moving forward to discover more about yourself, this personal growth can take many forms and for some people who wish to discover their fullest potential can take many years.