Getting Started
Secure Email Communications
Fees
Who can benefit from having online counselling
Confidentiality and security
If you are suicidal now
If you are under 18 years old
Testimonials
Links
Dedication
1.) Getting Started
You can begin by either emailing or phoning me. Please e-mail or phone me before you pay anything. When sending me an initial e-mail you don't need to go into too much detail at this stage. You could begin with a brief outline of your problem and how it is affecting you. Do ask me any questions that you would like to. I will send a brief reply to let you know how I think you might best proceed.
Telephone numbers:
01323 502 033 UK
+44 (0) 1323 502033 Outside the UK
2.) Secure Email Transactions
Cathy Lees Counselling ensure your safety and security when online by adhering to the latest BACP counselling standards and using secure email transactions for all our email counselling transactions. We currently use the secure email service provided by Hushmail; this offers free client email accounts.
3.) Fees
You can pay me in the following ways: Pay pal, online banking (I will supply you with the details of my bank account), cheque, postal order. I can offer you a discount if you choose to pay in advance for four sessions.
Online Counselling: £35 per session, or £25 per session where 4 appointments or more are paid for in advance ( email / skype audio / Instant Messenging - I can provide secure email via Hushmail)
All fees are payable in advance through the Papal link provided and your ongoing counselling exchanges will commence once I have received your payment.
| Counselling Session: |
| One counselling session |
£35 |
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| Four counselling sessions |
£100 (£25 each) |
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4.) Who can benefit from having online counselling
There are a number of reasons why people choose to have counselling online. Some people prefer online counselling because they feel more comfortable with writing, and so they can be more honest and open about their problems. This is because writing things down often enables clients to focus on what is troubling them, and that can bring emotional relief. If you haven't talked to anyone before, this way of working can sometimes feel less frightening, and so safer. You may also feel more comfortable in an anonymous environment.
It could help you if you fear it might be difficult to look directly at the counsellor's face, or if you have problems leaving your home. It could also help you if you feel very embarrassed or ashamed, or you may be too disabled or chronically sick to travel to a counsellor's rooms. Young men can prefer the anonymity that online counselling offers.
Many people find e-mail counselling preferable because it gives them time to think through what they need to say, and there is always an opportunity to read and re-read their counsellor's responses.
But some people may prefer to have online counselling in real-time, and so like to use a chat room. This way of working combines the advantages of e-mail counselling with the immediacy of the counsellor's responses.
5.) Confidentiality and security
Maintaining your confidentiality is very important to me, and so I am always careful to protect this. As a BACP Senior Accredited Counsellor I practice in accordance with the Guidelines for Online/Telephone Counselling and Psychotherapy. I hold all your confidential information securely and comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Agency. My e-mail service is secure as all information is held on a private server. Both my landline telephone and broadband Skype audio are secure. I have expert technical support available so that I can maintain a reliable and safe service.
Skype text or audio is secure and can be used with or without a voice recognition system. We will be communicating directly through our computers.
6.) If you are suicidal now
I would like to be able to help you, but feel concerned that because of the time delays, you wouldn't find online counselling helpful. You could contact www.samaritans.org/ or www.befrienders.org if you are outside the UK.
Both the Samaritans and Befrienders web sites have details of telephone numbers that you can ring at your local rate 24 hours a day. They also have details of other ways eg. email, that you can contact them. When your immediate crisis has passed then you are welcome to contact me.
7.) If you are under 18 years old
I am pleased to say that if you are between the ages of 13 and 18 years old I can offer you some help. But before you can have any online counselling I would need to ask your parent or guardian to sign a consent form. I would also need them to authorise the use of a credit card. If you don't want your parents or your guardian to know, you have a number of options. If you are in England you could phone Childline on 0800 1111, you could contact your school counsellor, or you could find a face-to-face counsellor in your area. There are also a number of Young People's Counselling Centres throughout the UK. If you would like some help do contact me and I will try to give you some assistance with this.
If you are under 13 years old, unfortunately I won’t be able to offer you online counselling. But I do have some suggestions about where you could find help. If you are in England you could phone Childline on 0800 1111 or you could contact a counsellor at your school. You could also talk to an adult that you can trust, perhaps a teacher at your school.
8.) Testimonials
"Cathy I just wanted to let you know that at last we have our beautiful little baby! Thank you so much for all your help last year. I just needed someone who could listen to what I was going through, and understand me. You were able to do that and more, which was good because it was much more painful and complicated than I thought when I started. Thank you again."
29-year-old female client after six e-mails and two phone calls
"Cathy, thank you for your help. I will always be grateful for your kindness and your calm presence. My life is never going to be easy, but with your help I feel I can cope. I can talk to my girls now, and I know how to handle the anger without it getting out of control. That was the most important thing for me."
38-year-old female client after nine e-mails and three phone calls
"Thanks Cathy, I really didn't think this would work, but it has. The thing is, I can talk to girls my age now, in fact they quite like my sense of humour!"
16 year old male client after five e-mails
"I think I have reached a far better understanding of my problems. I don’t feel I have to do things to please other people all the time. My going to the assertiveness training was also very helpful."
36 year old male client after 21 e-mails
9.) Links
10.) Dedication
I would like to dedicate my web site to the work of The James Nayler Foundation which was set up in 1997. This charity is made up of individuals, professionals and organisations who are working to promote a greater understanding of the powerful links between our emotional health, the violence that is often experienced in early childhood and the severe mental pain commonly found in society today. |
