We begin the work by meeting to see if we are a good fit for one another. We will discuss logistics of when and where we will meet and how often. Do some admin and if we think we can work together then you can give me a brief outline of what brings you to therapy, what you need and then we take some time to consider next steps. Discussing your aims for the work and making a contract together, defines what it is we are going to be working on and your goals. This can be a very focused contract for a specific issue, for example the impact of trauma, or the contract might be more exploratory.
I describe the type of psychotherapy I offer as integrative and psychodynamic. This means that whilst the therapeutic relationship is at the heart of the work, a broad range of approaches can be woven together to suit each person and situation. So what happens after that will depend on what is needed. Often it is useful to have a core model of working which informs and gives structure to all the other ways we can understand ourselves and for me that is transactional analysis (TA).