Booking
Getting started
Nobody books counselling casually. Here is exactly what happens between sending a message and sitting down, so there are no surprises in it.
Step by step
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You send a message
The form below, or an email. A couple of lines is enough. I reply within two working days.
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We talk for twenty minutes
Free, by phone or video. You ask whatever you want to ask. I explain how I work and what confidentiality does and does not cover.
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You take a few days
No decision on the call. Choosing a counsellor is largely a question of whether you can imagine talking to them, and that is worth sitting with.
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First session
We agree a regular weekly slot and where we are meeting. Indoors, on the seafront, or online.
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We keep checking
Every six sessions or so we stop and ask whether this is helping. Honest answers welcome, including no.
Request a first conversation
Please don't include anything you would mind sitting in an inbox. There is time for the detail when we speak.
Email is the quickest way to reach me
Send a short message with your name, how you'd like me to reply, and the days that usually work for you. I answer within two working days.
Site note: the online form goes live once a form endpoint is added in
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The practical bits
Fees
£55 a session (50 minutes, indoors or walking). The first conversation is free. A few low-cost places at £25 are kept open, so ask if the fee is what is stopping you.
Cancelling
Forty-eight hours' notice and there is no charge. Less than that and the session is charged in full, because the hour was held for you and cannot be filled at short notice.
Confidentiality
What you say stays between us, with two exceptions I will explain at the start: a serious risk to you or someone else, and certain legal duties. I also discuss my work in regular supervision, anonymously, which is a requirement of training and makes me better at this.
Waiting times
I usually have a slot within two weeks. If I don't, I will tell you when I expect one rather than leaving you on a list, and I will suggest other counsellors if waiting is not realistic.
If waiting is not an option
Counselling is not a crisis service, and I am not able to respond quickly between sessions. If you need someone tonight, call Samaritans free on 116 123, or NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. In an emergency, 999.
Otherwise, email me at hello@luciacockcroft.co.uk and I will come back to you.