Something was going on and Dean helped me figure it out. Sorting it out was easy then.

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About your Appointment.

Your First Appointment.

Your first appointment – we call it an assessment – will last for 50 minutes and is intended for you to be able to discuss with Dean your needs for counselling.

This is a mutual assessment: you’re evaluating Dean too to see if you can work with him.  Dean will help you decide if counselling with him is a suitable form of therapy, or if other therapies may be more appropriate.  You both will discuss the type of therapy on offer, confidentiality, and the service that Dean is offering to you.  If all is acceptable to both you and Dean, counselling may proceed.

Subsequent Appointments.

If, after the assessment, we agree that counselling is appropriate and we agree that we can work together, you will either be invited to commence regular sessions (if you are seeking individuals or couples counselling) or be offered a start date if you are thinking about joining a therapy group.

Dean will discuss with you the counselling fees, payment arrangements for missed sessions and holidays.

Your session appointment will be at the same time and day of the week each week.

If you are choosing face-to-face counselling, you and Dean will meet in the same room and same location each week.  If you are choosing Skype counselling, it will be your responsibility to ensure you will not be disturbed and that you are in a safe place (e.g. a room where you won’t be overheard).

Read more about Dean Richardson’s counselling services…

As a gay male couple, we found that Dean helped us understand our relationship problems.

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What is an Assessment for Couples Counselling?

Before couples counselling commences, every ethical and professional therapist must perform an assessment with the couple before therapy commences (read about couple counselling).

Initially, the couple meet with Dean Richardson to go through a process called “an assessment”.  The couple and Dean must first determine if therapy is an appropriate and helpful choice for the couple, and if it is then the couple and Dean must discover what is the therapy intended to address.  The couple is assessing the therapist as well as assessing if they can work together in therapy.

It is not unusual for the couple to find the assessment process therapeutically valuable too as the assessing therapist asks questions of the relationship that, perhaps, the couple have never addressed before.

The Assessment Process.

An assessment for couples counselling takes a minimum of four sessions (and can be experienced by the couple as therapeutically beneficial – although it is not counselling per se):-

Couples therapy cannot successfully proceed with different agendas (ie both partners wanting different things from therapy).  If necessary, the assessment process (Session 4) can be repeated for a time to see if the couple can be helped in negotiating and compromising upon what should be the focus of therapy.

By the end of the assessment.

With an agreed focus for therapy, subsequent sessions are lead primarily by the couple themselves.  The therapist offers support, listens to the couple’s discussions with occasionally offering observations and therapeutic hypotheses on the relationship intended to help both partners learn what might be going on in their relationship.  With new information the couple can learn what is different, and difference is a relationship or a change in the relationship (Selvini et all, 1980) inviting the couple into making more informed choices, change patterns of behaviour and be less held “at ransom” by unhappy behaviour.

A main intention of couples counselling is to help disturb the  relationship’s unhappy behaviour patterns by being curious and interested on the relationship system (what the relationship is doing), learning & finding new information and allowing inspiration to address what we are learning plus being creative with solutions that the couple will come up with themselves.

The process encourages more space for thought and inspiration – allowing the couple’s relationship to become unstuck again and leaving the couple no longer in need of therapeutic intervention.

What to do next.

If you and your partner believe that you would like to meet with Dean to discuss your needs for counselling, make contact to arrange an initial appointment.

Firstly, we talked about what I needed, then we talked through my needs. It wasn't always easy. It was worth it.

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This article covers counselling assessments for individuals. For couples read Assessments for Couple Counselling.

What is an Assessment for Individual’s Counselling?

Every ethical and professional therapist must perform an assessment with their client before individual therapy commences (read about individual’s counselling).

The assessment is a mutual process: the therapist is assessing the client but the client is also assessing the therapist.

Certain matters must be considered during an assessment:

The Assessment Process.

As a BACP Accredited counsellor in private practice, I perform my own assessments with people who are interested in becoming my private counselling clients. We will meet for the assessment in my Portsmouth & Southsea office or my Chichester office depending on where you want to begin counselling if face-to-face. I also have an online assessment form for those interested in Internet counselling. As to the assessment process itself, mostly I am interested in hearing your story, told in the way that you want to tell it. At the same time I will need to make some checks to see if my methods of counselling works for you.

We meet for 50 minutes. We will both have questions of each other – I need to know about you and you will need to know about me. This is a mutual assessment of each other. Apart from noting down your story, I also have a form that helps us navigate through a counselling assessment. I will be learning:-

Keeping you Informed.

I will discuss with you about my counselling models, qualifications and ethics, about confidentiality and how it effects you, about where the law requires I disclose information (such as serious criminal activity, intended harm to yourself and/or others, or the Children’s Act) and that I will discuss with you before I make such disclosures, also about my supervision arrangements.

By the end of the assessment.

At the end of the assessment we should both have a better understanding of if we think we can work together, if counselling might be a helpful process (for you) to go through (together), and what will be the focus of our counselling work. We will discuss fees, appointment times and vacation/absences, and what we can expect from each other (we call this “contracting”). The location of the counselling will be in Portsmouth & Southsea, Chichester, or Online depending on the location of where you wish to work with me.

All in fifty minutes.

There is a lot to cover in an assessment session, which is why I won’t hurry you (your needs are primarily important over those of the form) … but this sometimes may lead us into continuing the assessment into a second session. This is all perfectly fine and we can spend as much time on the assessment as we both need.

What to do next.

If you believe that you would like to meet with Dean to discuss your needs for counselling, make contact to arrange an initial appointment.

When we first meet we will go through an assessment for counselling.  This is where we discuss what you need from counselling and if I’m the therapist to work with.  We’ll pay attention to the problems that you are bringing to therapy, see how you respond to what I say and ask, and we’ll consider if brief of open ended counselling would suit you best. Later in the session I will discuss with you what I’d like to recommend and we’ll discuss what you think about this.  If we disagree with each other we can talk about this too.

Brief Counselling.

Brief counselling works on a single (usually) focus and is a set number of sessions (discussed and agreed between you and I).  The therapist and client have to be able to work well together – a kind of instant therapeutic rapport that can be used in the work click to read more.

Open Ended Counselling.

Counselling that is not limited to a set number of sessions.  But we will still work with a clear focus of our work (which might be at working towards an achievement, a change in emotional state, a transformation of life circumstances and so on).

Compromise.

Sometimes, when it is not clear which approach is best at the beginning of counselling, we can begin counselling in a form of an extended assessment – this is where we will work in a therapeutic way to try to find what focus might be best and which approach.  We may limit this work to a few sessions (two or three). Later, we can discuss if we both think counselling is benefiting you after these sessions and decide where to go afterwards (transitioning into a clearer focus for counselling and the contract). If this approach is not helpful we can agree how and when we would like to end the trail and maybe discuss a referral to another therapist,

Counselling can be available from the NHS through your GP.

There is a “stepped” process involved.  Your doctor might first ask you to come back in a few weeks time to see if things are better.  If they’re not then you may next be given access to reading material, written tests, or be given access to a computer program to help you identify and deal with your problems.  These are known self-guided therapies which – of course – are cost effective to the NHS because of their being no need to train highly skilled therapists.

The initially mild interventions offered to you should be overseen by a therapist who may have an initial qualification and adequate experience.  (ie newer therapists are more commonly used at this stage of your NHS counselling). 

You may later be offered a fixed number of sessions of face-to-face counselling if the previous therapeutic intervention didn’t work for you. You may be offered to meet with a more experienced psychotherapist or psychiatrist if the previous experiences of therapy are ineffective.

This NHS stepped process is partially due to costs and partially due to new procedures introduced called IAPT (read more). 

IAPT originally only offered CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy).  Mild forms of CBT can be offered by minimally trained therapists using a form of manualised therapy (eg you may be diagnosed and a therapist may refer to a set of therapeutic interventions that are recommended for your form of diagnosis).

Whilst CBT can be effective for certain issues it is not a fix-everything therapy and not everyone likes to feel like they are responding to a manual-of-therapy.  If you can be helped by the processes then this will be beneficial – albeit that to get to the higher forms of treatment the previous experiences of treatment may have to have failed first.

Private counselling with Dean Richardson begins with the FULL treatment.
There is no tiered/stepped process with Dean. You start immediately with full 50-minute weekly sessions working with Dean face to face.  No computers giving you questionnaires.  No books to read.  Dean and you will begin with a full assessment that will allow us to discuss your needs for counselling and what can (and cannot) be provided for you.  You work with Dean weekly. With his assistance you may choose how many sessions you wish to attend (such as brief/focal counselling) or may continue working with him until the focus of counselling has been addressed.

No waiting lists – no fixed number of sessions. 

It’s a very personal treatment.

Knowing how many sessions we had agreed up front really helped me focus.

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An Introduction Brief/Focal Counselling.

Dean Richardson offers a form of therapy for individuals called brief/focal short-term psychodynamic counselling. This is a a type of fixed-number of sessions of therapy available to individuals only (click for couples counselling).

This approach can be beneficial to some clients with certain criteria (explained below). It is important, however, to realise that the time-limited/brief approach is not suitable for everyone, and an assessment at the start of counselling will be helpful in determining if offering brief counselling is in the client’s best interests.

How Brief/Focal Counselling can help.

Brief counselling can help with an individual who wishes to focus upon a clear, defined issue, in a limited amount of time.

The relationship between the client and counsellor must be good to be able to achieve this focussed work. Client and counsellor meet weekly for an agreed set number of sessions (agreed at the start of the work).  The structure of the work is the same as open-ended counselling (session lasts for fifty minutes, weekly, same time/location each week).  Because brief therapy work concentrates upon a specific matter the therapy aims not to expand into other subject matters.

What’s involved in Brief/Focal Counselling.

Benefits of Brief Counselling.

When Brief/Focal Counselling is not Suitable.

The counsellor is responsible for judging during the assessment if the client is suitable for brief therapy or if such therapy may cause harm to the client (eg based upon the client’s level of functioning) when, instead, the counsellor may offer other forms of therapy (such as open-ended counselling). Other counter-indications for brief counselling may include:

What to do Next…

If you are interested in potentially receiving brief psychodynamic counselling, contact Dean Richardson to make an appointment for an assessment.

As a gay couple, we worked hard with Dean on communicating in our relationship.

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Private Hampshire LGBT Counselling with Dean Richardson.

Fully qualified & experienced gay counsellor for LGBT Clients – LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Questioning Individuals.

With over thirteen years’ experience working in Hampshire, Dean Richardson set up his private Portsmouth counselling practice to specialise in working with gay / lesbian / transgender/transvestite and bisexual clients in therapy.

There are very few private Hampshire counselling practices that specialise in gay & lesbian clients, and Dean offers three primary Hampshire LGBT services in his practice in Southsea (south of Portsmouth, PO5, 4 miles from M275 J12):

… these LGBT-therapy services are available to anyone in Portsmouth, Southsea, Southampton, Fareham, Gosport, Havant & Hayling Island, northwards to Petersfield and eastwards to Chichester.

Specialist LGBT Counselling for Hampshire.

Counselling focussed specifically on lesbian, gay, trans and bi clients isn’t just about understanding an LGBT-lifestyle and same-sex life-choices. For one thing, a counselling speciality involves an understanding the language characterised by LGBT lifestyles (“BDSM”, “PEP”, “CBT”, “S&M”).  It involves knowledge of appropriate LGBT psychological-related studies, as well as having a reliable core psychotherapeutic framework that’s appropriate for the therapy being sought.

Why Consider a Specialist LGBT Counsellor?

The following are just just some of the reasons why choosing Dean as your Specialist LGBT Counsellor for same-sex relationship- or simply individual- needs is worth considering.

Whilst it’s accurate that most therapists in Hampshire could work with most clients in the local areas, LGBT people sometimes seek counselling from a specialist LGBT private counsellor for specific reasons. 

Perhaps not least is to seek a sense of assurance that the counsellor understands and empathises with LGBT social, sexual & community conduct and that this type of  counsellor is sought after to convey the sense of understanding to the LGBT individual or couple that is sometimes not experienced from a generic-practice counsellor.

Whilst there is therapeutic benefits in an LGBT client imagining that a specialist LGBT counsellor will immediately be understanding & trustworthy, I would suggest that it is the qualities of the therapist who handles this imagination that is paramount during the initial part of the therapy regardless of the counsellor being gay or not. Yet, an LGBT-specialist counsellor can still offer an empathic understanding of the client or couple’s real world that other therapists may not be able to.

• LGBT Couples Counselling
• LGBT Individuals Counselling
• LGBT Support Groups
• LGBT Skype Counselling

LGBT Couples Counselling.

"I Bet It's `Can't Get You Out of My Head`" © CarbonNYC

When gay, lesbian or mixed-orientation couple relationships suffer conflicts & breakdowns and partners wish to engage a professional to help them understand what may be going on, LGBT couples may prefer to work with someone who is also member of their own sexuality group.

Couples choose counselling due to experiencing a negative recent event, or one from years ago, infidelity, mistrust, life stages, birth, ageing, death, wishing to separate and so on. Some relationships struggle to manage certain conflicts.

The counsellor is a neutral participant who doesn’t impose solutions. Instead he offers observation, curiosity and therapeutic hypotheses about the relationship’s behaviour – and invites the couple to take on similar acts to help perturb the unsatisfactory behaviour.

In aiming to help the couple help themselves in understanding what’s going on in their relationship, the couple can teach themselves  to become unstuck and move through relationship problems. With new information a couple can notices differences and use these to make changes (by themselves) for the better.

Click to learn more…

LGBT Individual’s Counselling.

"Gay pride 2011 à Toulouse" © Guillaume Paumier

Whilst it’s true that a gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual or “questioning” person  may be able to work with most any counsellor, some LGBT individuals choose to work on personal matters with a counsellor who also identifies as a member of the individual’s sexuality group.

All sorts of  LGBT&Q individuals come to counselling for all sorts of reasons.  Those experiencing a negative recent event, or one from years ago, unexplained behaviour, infidelity, mistrust, life stages, relationships, aging, death … they all have an impact on an individual’s life – and counselling is there when you have temporarily lost your ability to manage on your own.

The topic of your sexuality may not be the focus of your counselling and this is perfectly natural.  Sometimes the LGBT client simply wishes to talk about particular struggles in their life without feeling as if they have to explain their life choices or define their choice of words for their counsellor to understand.

Click to learn more…

LGBT Support Groups.

"Circle of Friends" © Jimee, Jackie, Tom & Asha

Sometimes, joining a therapeutic support group can help the LGBT individual recognise that they’re not struggling with their problems alone.

Groups not only discuss problems similar to each group member, but can also discuss “non-problems” (i.e. by the group discussing matters that are not the individual’s problem, the group can helpfully demonstrate life-management skills that are different to an individual’s personal difficulties).

Groups can be homogeneous (all members share similar personal-problems) or heterogeneous (members exhibit different problems), a closed group (the group starts with the same members that it finishes with) or open (the group allows new members to join and others to life during the life of the group).

Dean Richardson’s support groups can either be created “On Demand” – (a minimum of 4 & maximum of 8 participants are required  for a new group) or, if a suitable open group is already running, you may be able to join an existing group.

Click to learn more…

 

LGBT Skype Counselling .

"Bon Anniversaire" © Global X

Sometimes you find your ideal counsellor … and he works 100s of miles away from you. Fortunately, you can access Dean Richardson’s LGBT counselling services from your camera-enabled computer or Smartphone.

Simply install the free Skype software, and you can engage in counselling sessions with Dean using video conferencing.

Gay & Lesbian Couples who are in a distance-relationship can also make use of Skype Couples Counselling – as Dean supports group conferencing (both of you – along with Dean – using Skype simultaneously with everyone seeing the other two people on their screen).  Dean’s LGBT Skype Couples Counselling services is also suitable for couples of mixed-gender & mixed-sexuality (e.g. gay male and straight female intimate relationship).

What’s Skype counselling like? Initially some people find video conferencing a little unusual, but a handy tip is that if you maximise the video window, looking at the computer feels like the person is in the room as you.

Want to work with Dean, but are unable to get to his Portsmouth location?  Consider Skype Counselling.

Click to learn more…

I had to find a counsellor as part of my training course. I'm glad I stumbled on finding you.

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Introducing Individuals Counselling.

What if a single idea could transform your life?

Individuals counselling is ideal for a single person wishing to deal with anything from anxiety, depression, phobias, confidence, work issues, relationship problems and many more issues. Counselling can help you address and work through problems in your life, to help you resolve them.

Taking up private counselling means that you don’t need to be referred to a counsellor by the NHS or your GP.  You won’t have to go on a waiting list and you are not limited to a strict maximum number of six sessions.  Neither are you restricted to one particular form of counselling – which may or may not help you – the choice being made on your behalf by what’s available on the NHS . By going private your GP will not be informed of your counselling – it remains totally confidential.

How Counselling can help.

When you have issues on your mind, and you either cannot talk with friends or family – or friends and family are unable to help sufficiently – private counselling helps an individual address difficulties and distresses.  Sometimes it’s impossible to explain to a family member or a friend why you feel down, or anxious (a typical question from famiy and friends is: “… but why are you feeling like this” as if knowing the answering will help fix the problem) – but to a therapist you don’t have to explain yourself.

Counselling can help by supporting you in many ways:-

Some people come into counselling not knowing why.  And we can help with that too.

Sometimes just knowing that someone is on your side in empathy can be enough.

What’s Involved.

We initially meet to discuss your needs from counselling … and to have a think about what counselling might help you.  This is called the “assessment” session.

If we agree that counselling could be helpful, and we think that we can work with each other, we will arrange subsequent sessions.  Sometimes brief/focal counselling (a fixed number of sessions) is agreed suitable, sometimes working until the issues are worked through is a better choice.

Then we talk.

You will lead the sessions (with the counselling helping at the beginning of the work).  Whatever you want to talk about is OK.  The counsellor will listen, be inquisitive and curious to help understand aspects of the problems that, perhaps, you had not considered before.  The counsellor may sometimes offer thoughts and interpretations about what might be happening for you … giving you another perspective that is intended to help you understand the issues.  Sometimes, looking forward into the future will be discussed; how will things be when the issues are resolved and put away.  Sometimes the therapist will work with your emotions, sometimes the therapist will work with your patterns of thinking.  All of this is aimed to help you find your own ways that work for you in putting the problems to bed, leaving you unburned/less burned than when you came to therapy.

All sessions are fifty minutes, are held weekly on the same day and time and same location.

Responsibilities within Individual’s Counselling.

What Individual Counselling isn’t suitable for.

Skype Counselling.

Skype logo © Skype

Individuals looking to work with Dean, but live too far away to travel weekly to Portsmouth, may find Dean’s Skype Personal Counselling Service useful (read more…)

• Counselling is not an advice service. The therapist cannot give you solutions based upon his own experience, judgement or from a reference manual.
• The therapist cannot take action on your behalf (e.g. writing to a government agency, or writing a complaint to a company on your behalf).
• Counselling isn’t a social meeting – although it can appear as though it is a social relationship.
• Counselling is not held anywhere public (eg a cafe, library).  Some therapists will offer home-visits.
• Individual counselling cannot help change a third party.  Sometimes people wish to come and talk about their problems with another person, sometimes wanting solutions for that other person to be changed.  The only person we can work with to change in individual therapy is you.

What do to next…

 If you are interested in potentially receiving individuals’ counselling, contact Dean Richardson to make an appointment for an assessment.