SERVICES
On this page, you will find the list of counselling services available to you from Empathic Connections Counselling ®. This includes face-to-face counselling, online video counselling, email counselling and instant messaging counselling. For any more information that is not found on this page, or if you have any questions, please visit the contact page of this website to get in touch.
How does counselling work?
Counselling works by creating a therapeutic, supportive, safe space for you to talk about your problems and issues with a trained mental health professional who listens and guides you along this process. At first, it is normal to feel nervous or apprehensive about opening up to someone you do not know. However, with weekly meetings, you will soon find that speaking to a counselling psychotherapist can become easier as you build a professional working relationship. Counselling is a confidential space for you to offload your feelings and worries and explore reasons why you might be feeling how you are. Your counsellor will be non-judgemental and can help you explore problems that may be based in the here and now or childhood influences that may be affecting you in your adult life.
.png)
How do I start counselling?
So you have found yourself thinking that you might be ready to start coming for therapy and seek help with issues and problems. Or you might not feel "ready" at all but notice you a struggling to cope alone and are wondering what it would be like reaching out to a helping professional. It might be helpful if we break this process down into steps;
01
Step 1
You have made the decision to try counselling and psychotherapy. Perhaps having therapy is something you have been thinking about for a while, or maybe a friend or family member told you about their experience of counselling, or perhaps you have been offered counselling through your workplace. Either way, for counselling, to really work and for you to get the most out of your therapy you need to want to start. Nobody can force you to have therapy. If you find yourself in a situation where someone in your life is "making" you have counselling, your counsellor will understand this and encourage you to rethink the situation and return to counselling when it is actually your choice.
02
Step 2
Take some time to think about what type of counselling service you need that fits your life the best. For example, if you live in a remote area or are unable to leave your home, or need your counselling to fit around your office hours, video link counselling might be best for you. However, if you live within a comfortable travelling distance from the face to face counselling location you might prefer to meet your counsellor in person. For more information about the different choices available to you refer to further down this page.
03
Step 3
Choose between email (ECCounselling@protonmail.com), phone call or text message (07922221616) to express your interest in starting counselling. Your initial contact will be acknowledged and returned within 24 hours (unless stated otherwise on the home page due to annual leave).
04
Step 4
Your counsellor will make contact with you and arrange a suitable time for you to have an initial telephone consultation. If you require your counselling to be solely online and would prefer only email contact, that will be respected and all communication and counselling sessions will be conducted through email.
05
Step 5
After your initial consultation, you might find yourself thinking clearer about whether you want to arrange counselling sessions. You will be offered appointment times so that your first session can be booked in for you. When booking your counselling appointments, it is important to keep in mind about the need for your self-care after sessions. For example, talking about your problems with a professional can feel tiring and you may need some time to yourself before returning to work or daily activities.
06
Step 6
During your first counselling session, your counsellor will do an assessment with you to help gain focus on what you need from therapy and find out more about what you have been struggling with. After your assessment, your talk therapy is able to start weekly if you feel comfortable with your counsellor and want to continue.
.jpg)
Face to face counselling
Face to face counselling is the traditional platform for having therapy, in comparison to any online counselling services available. It works by having a 50-minute weekly meeting, at the same location, at the same time with the same counselling practitioner each week for a set amount of time, for example, six to twelve weeks. Some people may find they need 3- 6 counselling sessions, others may feel they need longer and that is ok. If you find yourself needing a longer episode of counselling/psychotherapy, holidays and planned breaks will be supported. At Empathic Connections Counselling ®, we offer short and long term counselling to suit your needs. Face-to-face counselling fee per session £40.
Face-to-face counselling is not currently available due to the coronavirus pandemic. Online counselling is available, please see below for more information. #onlinecounselling #videocounselling #zoomcounselling #empathic_c_counselling
Video Counselling
Video counselling may seem like a new concept in delivering and receiving therapy, as a type of online therapy, it can be just as effective as traditional face to face counselling. A big difference is you, as the client, have more freedom from where you have your therapy. For example, if you find leaving your home too challenging due to disability, being able to access video counselling would mean you could still have counselling but in your own home. Also, if you live in a rural area, finding a counsellor who lives near enough for you to travel to could be a limiting factor for you being able to access a counselling service. What you need for online video counselling is an internet connection, a computer, tablet or mobile phone that has a camera or webcam, and a confidential space where you will have privacy. For example, this could be a room in your home where no one can overhear you, or if you are in an office and want counselling to fit into your lunch break, as long as you had a room to your self this can be possible,
The fee for video counselling with Empathic Connections Counselling is £30 per session. For contact details please visit the contact details section of this website. Currently, Zoom is the video platform being used for video counselling. #onlinecounselling #videocounselling #zoomcounselling #empathic_c_counselling
Email Counselling
Email counselling is vastly becoming more popular as a choice of platform to having therapy. Some may find the act of typing and be able to look back on previous text, replies and responses beneficial because it can give you more time to reflect on your thoughts and feelings. The time in between replying can be agreed with your counsellor, which can be either synchronous, live email chat. Or asynchronous, with a window of time in between replies. For example, a week, or 2-3 days. Email counselling can be a convenient alternative to face to face counselling. Because you can create your therapy around your schedule. Payment is taken before your session or block of counselling. Protonmail, a secure and encrypted email server is used in any email interaction with your counsellor to ensure confidentiality. https://protonmail.com/
The fee for email counselling is £35 per 50 minutes of live email synchronous chat. Where you will have an instant reply. For asynchronous emailing, the fee is £35 for 50 minutes of the counsellor's interaction with your emails. These minutes and replies can be spread over the course of a week to three weeks. The email your therapist will use ECCounselling@protonmail.com
This video shows an example of a person who benefitted from online, email counselling. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-38528160/online-therapy-gave-me-a-way-to-cope