Assessment consultation
The Initial Appointment - Assessment
Purpose of the assessment
The purpose of the assessment is to assess your suitability for psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, intercultural or EMDR psychotherapy.
Being referred
You can be referred for a confidential assessment consultation by your GP or other agency (e.g. Social Services, Mental Health Services, Psychiatrist, Counselling Service, Psychotherapist). You can also refer yourself to me by contacting me to arrange a consultation (see 'Contact' page).
What to expect
You may be anxious or bewildered or simply unfamiliar wth the assessment process. You will most likely be assessing me in order to get an impression about whether this kind of psychotherapy will meet your needs and help deal with your problems.
I need to be able to get a picture of you as a person, with your developmental history and your current life. You may want to tell me about the specific issues that are distressing you and I will try to give you my professional views about this.
I will tell you a little about the psychoanalytic, psychodynamic or EMDR appproach in therapy and you will be able to ask me questions about this if you want to.
We will consider the practical implications of therapy for you: likely length of treatment, frequency of sessions, fees, couch versus the chair, holidays, confidentiality, professional boundaries
I will outline the professional boundaries around treatment: session times, my availability to you, cancellations, breaks, fee payment, roles and responsibilities. You can ask me to explain or clarify any of these issues further if you wish.
An assessment consultation lasts for 90 minutes.