Relationship, Family and Child Counselling Questions

Nicholas is able to offer an intensive method where a set of sessions are delivered in a single day. This option can sometimes be made available at weekends. 

If you have limited time available, travel extensively, have many commitments etc then Nicholas can offer a set of sessions in a single day. This option can sometimes be made available at weekends. Nicholas is also able to travel to you for this. 

As couples counsellors we provide a warm, supportive and non-judgmental environment, and we do not take sides. Couples counsellors do not come to the sessions with an agenda; we are not there to tell you what to do or to manipulate you into staying together. We are there to facilitate you in finding your own way forward; for some couples this will mean finding a more creative and positive future for the relationship, while for others it may mean helping you to accept and manage the end of a relationship. In our assessment session we will seek to clarify the issues on which we can seek to address in the therapy. For many clients a brief therapy model will be appropriate, this usually involves an initial commitment to ten sessions either on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Read more about Couples Counselling.

We often have couples who have tried therapy before. There are many reasons why this can happen however in our experience couples work is most effective when the couple feel relaxed with their therapist, have the energy to put into the therapy and can - maybe with some initial help from the therapist - have some clarity about what they want from the therapy. We always suggest an initial session and this enables you to see if this is the case.

Couples therapy is different to individual therapy and so the frequency of sessions might vary. Many couples find weekly sessions most helpful whilst for others less frequest sessions work best. Your therapist will work with you to put the right schedule in place.

In our experience we can help best if you both agree that:

* overall your relationship is worth trying to save

* you have energy to put into trying

We think a better question is whether you believe that putting off confronting your concerns will be beneficial in the longer term? In my experience though attitudes towards counselling are such that often it is considered as a last resort and couples can leave it too late before they start.

Yes people do come to counselling to be helped to end their relationships and we hold no agenda other than to work with you to gain the outcome that you hope to achieve.

Family therapy enables family members to listen, respect and understand different perspectives and views, to appreciate each other's needs and to build on their strengths to make useful changes and find positive ways forward. Read more about Family Therapy.

The therapeutic process is the same for everyone and every issue however having a therapist who has either personal experience or specific training is thought to be helpful. If this is true for you then you might want to ask to see a therapist with a particular sexuality or know they have experience in training on a specific issue, however in reality it can often be more helpful speaking to someone who has no preconceived ideas / experiences. The most important thing is that you feel at ease speaking with your therapist and that is why we always recommend an initial session.

Yes, we welcome the opportunity to work with people from the LGBT community in same-sex marriages or civil partnerships.

It is your space to talk about what you choose however we might ask questions if we feel they maybe relevant to the issues you want to explore.

Child Psychotherapists work with children by building a relationship through talking, play or the use of art materials to help children express themselves and help them to resolve issues concerning them. A space and time is created for them to think about life, to talk about growing up, about what happens at school with friends and about what it is like to be them. A child psychotherapist can also offer a great deal of support for parents and families at times of struggle. Juliet Lyons is our Associate Child Psychotherapist, she works with children from years 0 to 18.

If a child is showing signs of distress at home or school or if as a parent/s you are struggling in your relationship with your child. In addition there are a number of particular difficulties which can helpfully be brought to a child psychotherapist including pre and post natal difficulties, birth trauma, aggressive behaviours, ADHD, autism, divorce and separation, adoption, bereavement and loss, eating disorders, separation anxiety, selective mutism, obsessive behaviours. self harm.