Beginning counselling in Portsmouth, Hampshire with Dean Richardson is straightforward.
It might help you to be aware that once you have arranged to meet for a first session with Dean (the ‘assessment’) you’re pretty much assured to begin counselling with him – should you choose to. The assessment session is to ensure that the problems you present for counselling are matters which Dean and you can work with. It is not to evaluate you to past a test that would allow you into therapy.
Dean takes on a limited number of simultaneous cases. This is to ensure that you (or you and your partner, or the support group you may join) gets the best out of Dean as therapist. Dean makes sure that he is not overworked by having a maximum number of cases at any one time during the week. So, when you look on the front page for list of times Dean is available, you know that Dean is already available to take you on as a new case.
Individual or Couple Counselling.
- Take a look at Dean’s available appointments range.
- Contact with Dean – letting him know when you’d like to meet.
- Dean will return your contact to confirm – or offer another appointment time that’s near to your choice.
- You and Dean will meet for a counselling assessment to discuss your needs from counselling and to see if you and Dean both believe it will be beneficial for you to work together in therapy, or if maybe a referral to a colleague or another service might be a better choice.
- If there is nothing contraindicative to proceeding into counselling, you and Dean will arrange a weekly appointment (usually the same day, same time and same location as the assessment appointment).
- For individual counselling Dean and you meet together weekly for either a fixed number of sessions (see Brief Counselling), or until the issues you came into counselling for are worked through sufficiently for you and Dean to both recognise that the counselling is done.
- For couples counselling, you and your partner will meet with Dean until the issues you and your partner came to address have been sufficiently worked through for you all to agree that the work is done.
Support Groups.
- Take a look at Dean’s available groups.
- Contact with Dean – letting him know which group you’re interested in joining. Choose an appointment time from here to come for a meeting to discuss your needs from group therapy.
- Dean will return your contact to confirm your appointment time, or to offer one as near as possible to your choice.
- You and Dean will meet for a 50 minute talk to discuss your needs from a support group and to discuss if both you and Dean believe it will be beneficial for you, or if a referral to a colleague or another service might be appropriate.
- If you and Dean both agree about you joining a group, you both will arrange for you to be added either onto a waiting list to join a not-yet-meeting, or to be given a starting date to join an existing group.
- Because some groups only accept new members when the membership quota has dropped below the maximum membership number, you may be waiting for your place in the group to become available. You and Dean will look after your needs in the meantime either by arranging holding sessions with Dean, or by discussing other means to look after you whilst you wait.
- When your place in the group becomes available, you will be given your start date.