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Important questions to ask a Counsellor – Part 2.

2 women of equal stature sitting at a table having a conversation

I hope you’ve had time to consider the 7 questions in Part 1.  So now let’s dive straight in with 8 further important questions to ask a counsellor before committing to sessions.

(If you would like to read Part 1, then please click here). 

1: How much do your charge for sessions?

How frustrating would it be, to find a counsellor that you feel you connect with, only to find out that they charge more than you can pay for? Also, why the secrecy around it? We charge what we charge, and we have our reasons for it, so why should we not be transparent about it?

There are some that may argue that it’s an investment in yourself and I do not deny this. Yes, counselling is an investment in yourself, but a roof over your head, as well as heating and food, are essential. In this day and age, especially with the increased cost of living, people need to budget, and certain needs must be prioritised before others. That’s not to say that people should not consider counselling, as the psyche cannot be ignored, but at the same time, it makes sense to have an idea of how much you are willing to pay for such investments and commit accordingly.

2: How do you charge for sessions?

Sounds like a weird question? Possibly. However, it does need to be addressed. As a potential client, you need to know how your counsellor accepts payments. Can you use a credit card to make a payment? Does it need to be a bank transfer? Does the payment need to be paid in advance or after a session? If in advance, how far in advance? If after the session, then how much time after the session do you have to make payment. What are the payment terms for cancellations and rescheduling?

All of this information is important when you are deciding who you want to enter into a contract with. A word of warning – if they ONLY accept cash, RUN! In this day and age, there is no reason why a person cannot accept bank transfers, at the very least.

For transparency, I have my bookings system available on my website and clients can book in and pay directly through my site at the time of booking their session. The payment system is Stripe (well known and reliable) and accepts most major credit/debit cards. I also absorb the fee that Stripe charges for card payments rather than pass this onto a client.

All sessions with me have to be booked a minimum of 48 hours in advance (I have an intensely busy schedule, and this helps me manage my time better) and any cancellations or rescheduling must also be 48 hours in advance. This is stated at the time of booking so that clients can make an informed decision before booking and there is a lot more detail in my contract which clients can read through before their initial session).

3: How long are your sessions?

Many people may not know this, but a counselling hour isn’t 1 hour. It’s actually 50 minutes. I have no idea how or why this was decided but it is the norm in the counselling world and so sessions are usually 50 minutes (this is what I go by too). Having said that, counsellors can choose to increase or decrease this time. I know that BetterHelp’s slots are 30 or 45 minutes and I’m also aware of counsellors that offer a 60 or 90 minutes session.

You’d want to know how long your session is supposed to be so that you don’t feel shortchanged by your counsellor, right? You’d probably also want to know this so you can manage your own time/schedule too.

4: How do sessions take place?

Do you need to travel to a physical location? Can you have the session online? Will it be video, phone or messaging (email or a chat system, like WhatsApp)? All this information is pretty important as different people prefer a different mode of communication.

I’ve previously written a blog about the benefits of online counselling, if you’d like to read it – click here.

5: How many sessions will I need?

Are you contracting for a specific number of sessions, or can you book each session as you choose. This is important information, as you need to manage your budget, your time and your expectations.

I personally have never been big on contracting for a specific number of sessions. How would someone even start to calculate such an answer? If someone is telling me I need 15 sessions, I want to know how they came to such a conclusion and what factors were considered when arriving to such a conclusion.

Having said that, I do believe that one or two sessions really cannot tell you much (although they do tell you if you and your counsellor feel like a good fit), and so I would consider giving it a few more sessions (most counsellors say 6), before deciding how you would wish to proceed.

I do stress to my clients, that I don’t dictate how many sessions they should have however I do request that consistency in having sessions is very important. It’s no different to training your physical body. Consistency (among other things) brings about results.

I’ve also written a blog about getting the most out of your sessions. Please click here if you would like to read it.

6: How often should I have a session?

This ties in with the above questions and you want to know this information in order to manage your budget, time and expectations.

Again, please do keep in mind that consistency is KEY.

7: What does a typical session look like?

Whether you have or haven’t had counselling before, you’d probably want to know this information in order to manage your expectations.

You don’t need a rigid structure or agenda of a session, but a basic overview is pretty helpful. I say this because, for me, there is no such thing as a typical session. Each person is unique, and each day is different.

During my consultations, I tend to explain that the consultation and the initial couple of sessions is about assessing the client’s needs. After that it really is about what the client wants to bring to the session, and we explore that via conversation. I also explain that the client will lead the sessions, and I will support them during their exploration.

 

8: What happens if I decide to stop counselling?

This is an important question. How would this be handled by the counsellor? Would you be contracted into paying for sessions that you don’t attend if you’ve chosen to stop counselling? What’s the procedure for “stopping”?

You want to know what the process is, so that you don’t get “caught out” and tied into a contract that ends up costing you more than you expected to invest.

It also ties into your feelings around endings, and this really should be managed by both counsellor and client, in a healthy way, so that it doesn’t add to any unresolved feelings that a client may have around endings of relationships.

That’s all I can think of at this stage, but do let me know in the comments below, if you come up with any other questions that you think are important to ask a counsellor!

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