Frequently asked questions

Psychotherapy

  • Psychotherapy sessions are 50 minutes long.

  • There are many reasons people seek out therapy, some things like phobias or OCD tend to be time limited therapy, usually spanning 8-12 weeks, other things like relationship difficulties, stress, depression or anxiety might be more open-ended.

  • I am trained in three types of therapy: person-centred, humanistic and psycho-dynamic therapy. Essentially this means that I am able to draw upon a variety of therapeutic tools to help you.

  • Everything we discuss is completely confidential. Only in an exceptional circumstance –if I were to have concerns about your or someone else’s safety – would I consider breaking that confidentiality.

  • At this point I only offer online psychotherapy, however this is not a fixed position and should enough local interest arise I would be happy to offer in-person sessions in the Malmesbury area.

  • No, psychologists in the UK do not prescribe medication. GPs and psychiatrists are the medical professionals who prescribe and advise on medication.

Insomnia

  • The programme typically takes 6-8 weeks.

  • The first session is 90 minutes long to enable a thorough history to be taken, with subsequent appointments lasting 50 minutes.

  • Although it has one name – CBT-i – it would be more accurate to describe it as a collection of different treatments. There are behavioural elements, cognitive elements and psychoeducation elements. We will talk through all of this in our first session, and you will have a clear understanding of what will take place each week.

  • CBT-i is the most effective (and evidence based) treatment for insomnia that is available today. It has a response rate of approximately 70% and the longest longitudinal study examining CBT-i found that effects remained stable ten years after treatment.

  • There are no treatments for insomnia with as good an evidence base, or as good response rates. CBT-i is the gold standard treatment for long-term insomnia.

  • Yes, you can certainly do the treatment if you are taking sleeping pills. We can talk about this element of the puzzle in your first appointment and whether you would like to stop taking them over the long-term or not. I understand how difficult a part of the puzzle sleeping pills can become, as a result I am open to working with them in a way that makes you comfortable.