Frequent Asked Questions

Integrative, relational therapy is a type of therapy which draws on multiple different therapeutic modalities so therapy is personalised to your needs and preferences. That's the integrative bit. The relational bit means that you and your therapist will use the therapeutic relationship to help you better understand your ways of being with others. Integrative, relational therapy is for people who don't want a one-size fits all approach to their sessions. It's also great for people who notice they often end up in the same situations over and over again and want to change that or those who recognise their suffering has links to their interpersonal experiences.

Short answer - There isn't much difference.Long answer - Counselling, therapy and psychotherapy are often used interchangeably although their historical origins and associations vary somewhat. Some practitioners use the term "psychotherapy" because their approach aligns more with psychodynamic or psychoanalytic theory. Others use "counselling" because they align more with person-centred or humanistic theory. "Therapy" is more neutral term and can also cover holistic approaches. What matters most is finding a therapist/counsellor/psychotherapist who's way of working feels right for you.Want to know more about how I work? Click here.

Therapy is a significant financial and emotional investment so it's natural to have maybe some anxiety about choosing the right therapist for you. First off, I'd say it's important that you feel comfortable and safe with your therapist. After that, it's worth asking yourself what you want from a therapist. Some people want a therapist that’s trained in a specific modality, others want a therapist who's experienced supporting others with what they're going through, others care more about the connection they feel to the therapist. There's no real right or wrong way of deciding, it's what matters most to you. So, am I the right therapist for you? Well I can't give you a definitive answer to that but I would encourage you to look at my "How I work" and "Am I the right therapist for you?" sections to help you get a feel for who I am, how I work and where my experience lies. I also offer a free no-obligation 15-minute call (or Zoom) if you want to connect and see how we get on.If you're looking for support for food and body image, you can also check out my social media @becomingwithbecca_therapist and The Food and Body Podcast to get a better sense of me and the way I think about things.

Everyone comes to therapy for different reasons, so 'therapy working' will look different for everyone. Generally speaking, if you're wondering whether therapy is working it can be helpful to reflect on whether you notice any changes in your mood, behaviours or beliefs and if those changes feel supportive to your well-being. You might also notice that your understanding of yourself has deepened or how you relate to yourself, others and certain situations has shifted too. It's important to note that therapy can feel challenging at times and it isn't always going to feel comfortable. But overall you should feel like the therapeutic process is supportive to you and helping you grow as an individual. As I take a collaborative approach to therapy, I'll regularly check in with you to see how you're finding things, what you're getting from our sessions and whether you think we're heading in the right direction together. If you're not sure whether therapy is working for you or don't feel like you're getting what you want from therapy then I encourage you to talk to me about it as we can explore this together.

If there's something you're not happy with about how therapy is going or if I said something in a session which missed the mark, then please let me know. Knowing you're not happy can help me understand your needs better and make me a better therapist. Voicing dissatisfaction and the process that unfolds from that can also have therapeutic benefits to some clients too. My aim is always to resolve things with you directly. If we try that and you're still not satisfied or if you don't feel able to voice your concerns to me directly then you can reach out to the BACP to raise a complaint here.

Please see my services/fees page for pricing.

There isn't really a correct number of sessions - it will vary from person to person. I usually recommend people start with the idea of committing to 6 sessions as there is a lot that we can explore together in 6 sessions. If you decide you want more than that's absolutely fine - many people do. If you decide that you don't need the full 6 sessions - that's fine too. Therapy sessions are open-ended meaning you can have any many or as few sessions as you like and you can end at any time.

Again this is dependent on the individual. For individual therapy, I usually recommend weekly sessions; at least to start with while we are building the therapeutic relationship. After time, some people like to move to fortnightly sessions. We can discuss this together.

We will spend some time in our first session discussing the limits of confidentiality and you'll have the opportunity to ask any questions you might have.In summary, all our sessions are confidential. The only time I would need to compromise confidentiality is in the following situations:There is an immediate and/or significant risk of harm to yourself or another person. This would always be discussed with you first.I am required to disclose information by a court order or witness summons.If I obtain knowledge of or intent to engage in terrorism, drug trafficking or money laundering. I also discuss details of sessions with my clinical supervisor to ensure I'm working ethically and effectively. I do this in an non-identifiable way.

I only ask for and use personal information about you which are essential for me to be able to provide and manage therapy, communicate with you effectively, risk assess appropriately and maintain therapeutic and legal records. I take your data protection very seriously meaning I don't sell or rent any of your personal information and I take appropriate measures to store your personal data securely.More information about how your personal information is gathered, used, stored, protected, shared and disposed of can be found in my Privacy and Data Protection Policy.