Is This Confidential?
Everything that is said in our sessions is 100% confidential, unless I have reason to believe that you or someone else is at serious risk of harm. Any need to disclose safeguarding information would be discussed with you unless this increased the risk of harm to yourself or someone else.
Do I Need To Talk About the Details of My Abuse?
No! A lot of the time, the abuse is the elephant in the room and the impact of it is what we work with. I use an approach to therapy called "the flash technique" (I specifically use two versions of it), which offers you the unique opportunity to process traumatic memories quickly, and relatively painlessly without the need to talk about the details. Therapy can be tough and touch on upsetting details, but I never push clients into feeling distressed - you do not have to feel how you felt back then in order to feel better!
What Does the First Session Look Like?
The first session includes some information about our therapeutic relationship, which involves things such as our confidentiality agreement, payment of sessions and all the boring admin stuff! Apart from that, we will look at the impacts of the abuse and discuss what getting you from A to B looks like, the tasks we need to do to get you there, and the steps that we need to take to get you there. A personal goal of mine with all my clients, is to reignite hope, and this starts from the first session.
Does Anything Go On My Health Record?
The short answer is no. No information is shared with other health professionals unless required due to safeguarding concerns.