Initial Contact

Once you have made contact with me, I will arrange to talk to you over the phone to understand the challenges your child or teen is experiencing and to hear what you are worrying about most. During this conversation, I will explain what NLP therapy is, how and where I work and it is also a chance to answer any questions you may have. We will then agree a date and time for a free online consultation with the parent(s)/guardian and child/teen.

Free Online Consultation

In advance of the online consultation, I will ask you to chat to your child/teen to explain why they will be meeting me and what the meeting will entail. It is important that your child/teen is fully aware to ensure the consultation is useful. The purpose of this consultation is for me to get to know your child/teen and to start to build a rapport so they feel comfortable working with me; to allow them to see what I look like in advance of meeting me in person so it’s not quite so daunting at the first therapy session and the consultation also is an opportunity for me to ask your child/teen about what they would like me to help them with – what problems they are having difficulty with, from their perspective.  This can be very interesting as the issue the parent informs me of, can sometimes be secondary to a problem the child/teen feels is more difficult to manage. After asking a series of questions, I will invite you to book the first face to face therapy session.

1-2-1 Therapy Session

The 1-2-1 therapy sessions will take place in person, in a therapy room in Cardiff. Although the consultation involves both the parent(s) and child/teen, I will work with your child/teen directly in the 1-2-1 sessions. This way, they are unable to rely on anyone else to answer questions for them and they can be open and honest about anything that is bothering them without concerns of worrying their parents further. During the sessions, we will talk about the issue/challenge to understand it in more detail and then I will teach your child/teen some NLP strategies which I will ask them to practice before the next session.

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Counselling are all recognised as talking therapies to help you improve your wellbeing, just in slightly different ways.

NLP Therapy

NLP Therapy focuses on changing your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours by understanding how your mind works. Practitioners teach their clients techniques to help them reframe negative thinking patterns, anchor positive emotions and reprogramme their minds to change behaviours.

CBT Therapy

CBT Therapy helps you identify and change negative thought patterns that contribute to emotional and behavioural problems. Practitioners use exercises such as journaling and role-playing to challenge negative thoughts and develop coping skills.

Counselling

Counselling is probably the most well known therapy. Practitioners provide a safe space to talk about your challenges and explore ways to cope with them, often involving active listening and open-ended questions.

Think of it like this:

• NLP therapy: Teaches you new “user manuals” for your mind.
• CBT: Helps you “edit” negative thoughts in your head.
• Counselling: Provides a supportive space to explore your “internal library” and find solutions.

Following a telephone conversation after the initial contact made, I offer a free online consultation. Then, if you and your child/teen are happy to proceed after meeting me online, I will invite you to book the first 1-2-1 therapy session which will take place in person, in a central location in Cardiff. Each therapy session lasts 50 minutes and costs £90/session.

Well, this does vary from child to child and depends on the severity of the issue they are dealing with and how well they engage with the sessions and the tasks I ask them to practice at home. On average, I see children 6-7 times (once week)  but it could be a bit less or even a few more depending on progress. Sometimes, children have a break after a block of sessions and pop back at a later date for ad hoc top up sessions and that works well too.

The 1-2-1 child sessions take place in a beautiful therapy room, conveniently located on Newport Road in Cardiff, near Oakfield Street (on the stretch between James Summers Funeral Care and Clifton Street). The room is not clinical at all, it’s just like sitting in a comfortable living room, so not intimidating at all for children.

Although therapy sessions can take place online, I prefer to see the children and teens in person. This is because my sessions are interactive and involve some writing, drawing and role play tasks to keep them engaged and responsive.