The standard consultation is about 50 minutes. Your psychologist then spends additional time following the consultation writing and reviewing case notes and preparing for your next consultation.
Occasionally your consultation may go longer, but rarely more than one hour, unless you are being assessed, whereupon the psychologist will discuss with you the expected duration of the consultation.
Counselling is a general term used to cover the several processes of interviewing, guiding, and advising, all of which are designed to help individuals, families, or groups, solve problems, address issues and plan for the future.
People come to counselling for many different reasons, but generally because they are experiencing difficulty or discomfort with some aspect of their life. Many find it helpful to talk issues over with a psychologist, who has specific skills to assist in addressing problems or issues. Psychologists are also in the position to be objective about your concerns, as they are not a part of your family, social, or professional network.
There is no magical solution for people’s problems; counselling is hard work and may at times be distressing for the individual. Your psychologist is there to assist and support you. However, the psychologist will expect you to be an active participant in the process. Remember, the more you put in to your counselling sessions the more you will get out of them.
Psychological assessment may be used to obtain information about an individual’s symptoms of distress, or cognitive, or interpersonal functioning. Skills, abilities, interests, and personality may also be assessed. Frequently, the results of a psychological test are compared to a sample population so they may be interpreted against what is considered to be average, or typical performance, in the aspect of human functioning that is being measured.
Psychological assessments can be useful to assist individuals to make decisions in areas that concern them and to help target psychological treatment or counselling
Sometimes it can be helpful to gather your thoughts and reflect on what you wish to achieve, prior to attending your consultation. It is not essential you do so, however, should you think this might help, then please download the relevant document.
Preparation for your initial consultation
Please download and complete this document to bring to your first consultation.
Preparation for your follow-up consultation
Please download and complete this document to bring to your next consultation. You can use this same form to prepare for any of your follow-up consultations. Use it once, or many times, depending on your preference.