Further Information About Counselling & Psychotherapy
Arriving for your first session At our premises, on Tettenhall Road, there are separate door bells to each therapy room. When you ring the bell to your therapist's room they will speak to you briefly at the door before buzzing you in. Please be aware that if you ring the bell a little too early you may be disturbing the session immediately before yours, so it's best not to arrive until a few minutes before the session itself begins. During the first session During your first session you will be asked to fill out a brief registration form and an assessment questionnaire known as CORE (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation). If you have difficulty filling in forms then your counsellor or psychotherapist will be happy to assist you or do this for you. The therapist will then explain what to expect and answer any questions you may have. You will be invited to talk about the your problems, your history, your needs and wishes, your personal life circumstances, the reasons that have led to the development of your difficulties and the way in which your current difficulties affect your life. The counsellor / psychotherapist will also ask what you hope to gain from therapy and you may wish to establish some therapy goals.The first appointment is not only about gathering information, but is also about coming to a better understanding of your difficulties. Following this appointment and an agreement that counselling or psychotherapy will be beneficial, an ongoing appointment will be arranged at a time to suit you. Not about couches At Lewis Psychology CIC you certainly won't be asked to lie on a couch and free associate while your therapist sits dropping in just the occasional remark. Nor is our therapy about delving into your unconscious, and waiting for a fresh insight simply to bubble up. Instead, the insights you may experience during therapy at Lewis Psychology CIC will be the result of a far more active and collaborative process. Indeed, modern forms of therapy tend to be a lot more interactive and to entail other activities during therapy than just talking about your particular issue. These activities may inclide exercises to try out at home or out in the real world. This allows you to try out some of the new skills you've been learning in therapy - skills related to methods of relaxation or mindfulness, or different ways of communicating with others, or a paper-based exercise designed to consolidate learning.The First Session
Number and duration of sessions
By the end of your first session the therapist will be able to tell you how long they consider you could be in therapy. Some issues can be helped in a relatively short time of up to six sessions and other issues may take longer. How many sessions you need depends on the nature, complexity and severity of your individual problems and circumstances.
Sessions last for 50 minutes.
Service Standards and Theoretical Approach
A BACP Accredited Counselling and Psychotherapy Service
Lewis Psychology CIC is the only counselling and psychotherapy service in Wolverhampton to gain service accreditation status with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). BACP Service Accreditation demands the highest standards of practice in the counselling and psychotherapy profession and is considered by many to be the highest honour in the field.
The BACP Service Accreditation helps the public and practitioners identify services providing a high standard of counselling and psychotherapy. It sets the standard to which all counselling and psychotherapy services can aspire to and demonstrates a commitment to excellence.
All our counsellors and psychotherapists abide by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy. All staff have completed verified counsellor / psychotherapy training that has been accredited by one of the UK National Awarding Bodies.
Theoretical approach
It is important not to get bogged down with the technicalities and theories behind different forms of therapy. CBT or cognitive behaviour therapy is an important part of our mix and we each use more than one approach to therapy. The beauty is that we can create a working style that is unique to you. Research has shown, time and time again, that the single most powerful factor in effective therapy is the relationship between client and therapist. We think that is something we do really well. We certainly don't sit there silently waiting for you to speak, but take an active part in conversation and in the process of recovery and change.
Record Keeping and Confidentiality
Confidentiality
The content of your counselling / psychotherapy sessions are confidential, however in order to enhance the quality of therapy being offered to you, your therapist may discuss your case on a confidential basis with their clinical supervisor. Regular clinical supervision is a professional and ethical requirement of all counsellors and psychotherapists. This process maximises the therapist's therapeutic effectiveness and ensures that professional and ethical standards are adhered to. If your counsellor / psychotherapist considers that you are at imminent risk of causing serious harm to yourself or others, they may seek additional assistance on your behalf or on the behalf of vulnerable others. Your therapist will talk to you about their concerns and endeavour to gain your consent before doing this. In the case of a disclosure concerning acts of terrorism or drug trafficking your counsellor / psychotherapist is legally obliged to break confidentiality and pass such disclosures onto the relevant authority.
Record Keeping
Your therapist will make brief notes after each session, the notes will be securely stored and you cannot be identified from them as your name will be omitted. Notes of sessions are kept separately from personal details in order to protect your anonymity and maintain confidentiality. Lewis Psychology CIC is a registered data controller with the Information Commissioner's Office and all personal information is kept in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998).
Access to Records
A £60 administrative fee will be charged to all clients requesting access to their records. Please note that we do not allow third party access to case records, which includes requests from solicitors. All records belong to Lewis Psychology CIC and not the client or therapist.
Cancellations and Fees
Cancellation procedure
Our therapists see their clients on a regular basis at the same time and day each week, and so if you are unable to attend a session for any reason, it will usually not be possible for your therapist to make use of 'your time' by filling your session with a different client. Thus a missed session represents lost income for your therapist and the organisation plus a lost opportunity for another client.
When you make an appointment we reserve the whole session for you. We will need at least two working days notice (excluding Sundays and Bank Holidays) if you wish to cancel or reschedule an appointment otherwise you will be liable to pay the full session fee.
More than two late notice cancellations may prompt your therapist to consider withdrawing our service altogether, in order that your time-slot may be offered to someone else.
Session fees
For more information regarding our pricing structure for self funding customers please click: Fees
If you are a business, social worker, GP or other third party please contact us on 01902 827808 for more information regarding our corporate pricing structure. Alternatively fill out our online contact form
Age Limitations, Language and Childcare
Age limit
Counselling and psychotherapy is available to everyone aged 18 and above. There is no upper age limit.
Childcare
We do not have the facilities to provide child care.
Languages
In addition to providing counselling and psychotherapy in English we can also provide therapy in a number of languages including Punjabi, Hindi and French.
Home visits
We do not offer home visits.
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