Starting therapy can feel daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before, or if previous experiences haven’t felt right. I want you to know exactly what working with me looks like, so that nothing feels like a surprise.

The journey from first contact to end of therapy

Step 1: Initial telephone conversation (free)

Before anything else, I invite you to have a short, free 20-30 minute telephone call with me. This is a chance for you to tell me a little about what’s brought you to therapy, ask any questions you might have, and for us both to get a sense of whether working together feels right. There’s no obligation and no clinical assessment at this stage.

Step 2: Assessment/initial session

If you decide you’d like to proceed, we begin with an assessment style initial session (or occasionally two if we need more space to understand your difficulties and consider the best approach for you). This is a fuller conversation where I get to understand your history, your current difficulties, and what you’d most like to change. It’s also an opportunity to make sure CAT is the most appropriate approach for you at this time.

Step 3: Beginning therapy – the Reformulation Phase

The first phase of CAT is about building a shared understanding of your patterns. Together, we will explore your life story, not in exhaustive detail, but enough to understand how the patterns we’re working on came to be.

I will then write you a personal Reformulation Letter which is a compassionate account of your story as I’ve come to understand it, and we’ll begin work on a visual map of your patterns. This is something we create together, and it becomes an important tool throughout the rest of the therapy.

Step 4: The middle phase – Recognising and Changing Patterns

With our shared map in place, the work becomes more active. You’ll begin to notice when the patterns we’ve identified are happening in day-to-day life, and sometimes in the therapy room itself. We’ll work together to find different ways of responding: small, achievable changes that begin to shift the bigger picture.

Between sessions, you may keep a diary or note when you spot patterns occurring. This isn’t homework in a burdensome sense, it’s simply a way of keeping the work alive in your everyday life.

Step 5: Ending therapy – the Goodbye

Endings matter. From the very start of CAT, we’re aware that the therapy will end and that awareness is used thoughtfully. In the final sessions, we each write a Goodbye Letter, reflecting on what has changed, what remains to be done, and what the ending means for you personally.

For many clients, this is one of the most significant parts of the therapy. It offers a chance to process endings in a healthy, meaningful way, which is often itself part of the work.

Step 6: Follow-up sessions

After the regular therapy ends, I offer follow-up appointments. These provide an opportunity to consolidate what you’ve learned, review progress, and address anything new that’s emerged. They’re an important safety net as you move forward.

Practical details

Where sessions take place

I offer in-person sessions in Gosforth (Newcastle upon Tyne), as well as online sessions via a secure video platform, for clients who prefer to work remotely or who are not local to me.

How long and how often

Sessions last 50 minutes and take place weekly, at a regular time that we agree together. Consistency of attendance is an important part of how therapy works. If there are difficulties with attending weekly, then this is something we can explore together to make sure we’re able to meet your needs.

Confidentiality

Everything you share in sessions is confidential. There are standard clinical exceptions to this, for example, where there is a serious risk to your safety or the safety of others, and I will always discuss these with you openly at the start of our work.