What is personal therapy?

Personal Therapy at Tree & Tide is a Counselling & Psychotherapy service. Deborah Mullan is a fully trained Counsellor and Psychotherapist with over 8 years experience in her field.

Personal therapy is a space for you - to talk, to feel heard and understood, to have a place free from judgement or expectations.

It is an opportunity to talk about what troubles you, to be listened to in a way that helps you understand yourself better - your thoughts, feelings and behaviour. This understanding can help you make decisions about how to live your life more positively or peacefully.

You could say it's about helping you become your own expert on you. Personal Therapy is always working towards the point where it is no longer needed, giving you the confidence and knowledge to deal with whatever comes your way yourself. 

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is a professional body of which Deborah is a member. They have produced a number of helpful information resources which you can find an index of here.

How is that different from talking to friends or family?

It can be hard to talk to those closest to us about something we are struggling with. We think they will worry or over-react or maybe just not understand. Friends and family, out of concern, may want to 'fix' us or give lots of advice, which can add to feelings of pressure. Or perhaps they are part of what is hard about life at the moment.

Personal Therapy provides a clear space, focused on your needs and your story that helps you find your own solutions.

Will anyone else know what I tell you?

Trust and feeling safe are very important in counselling and psychotherapy so all Personal Therapy sessions are confidential. That means what you say in our sessions is not repeated. There are a some legal exceptions to this such as criminal offences or when you or someone else is at risk.

The British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) has strong ethical standards for how counsellors and psychotherapists behave, including with regard to confidentiality. To read more about this click here.

How do I know if it will work for me?

Coming for Personal Therapy requires some courage to take the first step to help yourself, and a bit of curiosity: Why do I feel the way I do? Why do I behave like this? What do I want for myself, my life?

If you have even a little courage, curiosity and desire for change then personal therapy could really help.

You don't have to be in crisis to come for personal therapy. Perhaps you are fed up feeling anxious about a particular thing or dissatisfied with life in general. Maybe you feel burnt out and don't know how to get more balance in your life. Personal Therapy can provide a space to talk through anything that is difficult for you and find new ways of being. 

What costs are involved?

In order to make therapy affordable and accessible for as many as possible, I offer a sliding scale of session fees.

Fees for a 50 minute personal therapy session are between £50 to £85 depending on what clients feel they can afford to pay.

Sessions are usually weekly (but not always) and are paid for either by cash or bank transfer on the day of the session.

How do I book an appointment?

You can fill in the contact form at the bottom of the page here

How many times do I need to come?

How many sessions you have is entirely up to you. There is no maximum or minimum number of sessions. We can review how helpful coming for sessions is for you and how we are working together at any time.

Do you do couples therapy?

We don’t offer couples therapy at this time.

What happens the first time I come?

In your first session we will spend some time talking through how personal therapy works and you can ask any questions you might have. You can say as much as you feel comfortable with (a little or a lot) about why you are coming and what you would like to get from counselling.  The first session is really about you getting a sense of whether you think you'd like to continuing working together. You can read more about this here.

It is really important that you find the therapist that feels like a good fit for you. If coming to for Personal Therapy to Tree & Tide is not for you, we will be very happy to recommend some other great counsellors and psychotherapists working locally.

What if I need to cancel?

Life can be unpredictable and sometimes you might need to reschedule your session. If you can phone or text more than one full working day before our session you won't have to pay the session fee.

Still have questions? No problem.

Send us your questions and queries via email to treeandtide@icloud.com