Counselling is the space and time to think and talk about you and you alone. People find it helpful for different reasons. It can:

• Help you talk about something difficult that you’ve never shared before
• Explore parts of yourself and your relationships and help you make sense of them
• Let out stress and help you learn how to cope better
• Just provide comfort that someone is there for you
• Be just a safe place to work things out
• A Space to learn highly effective coping strategies.

Counselling isn’t about me giving you all the answers. It’s about me supporting you as you find your own solutions, and help build your confidence and self-esteem.

The truth is only you can answer this. People see successful outcomes in therapy if they genuinely feel therapy, counselling or psychotherapy will help them. If you are seeking therapy because “your partner or family or friends want you to” (and you are going along with it). The truth is you probably aren’t quite there in the right space for  therapy to be effective.

I only provide online counselling in Yorkshire, England, Nationwide nd Online. 

This usually depends on your individual circumstances. You can see me sporadically for just 1 or 2 sessions to talk through a specific life obstacle or life decision. I also offer single session therapy. You can book a set number of sessions to work through a specific challenge or see me regularly for long-term support.

The office PA will initially make contact with you within 24 hours to arrange an appointment.  

Initial contact and arranging of appointments we use  SMS messaging, What’s App or email.  The office PA is available to receive and send messages from 10.00am – 10.00pm Monday through till Friday. 

Once you have booked your appointment using our online booking system you will receive automatically an email with your zoom link.  You can add the details  to your calendar. 

Appointment Reminders 

You will receive an email reminder 24 hours, 1 hour and 10 minutes prior to your appointment.  These are automated. 

You can also opt in to receive SMS/ text reminders. 

Firstly try not to panic! 

Check all your email folders – including junk, spam or promo folders. 

If you can’t find them send the office a SMS with your 

• Full name 
• Appointment date & time 
• The email used to book your appointment 

And they will send you a email out with your link. 

All appointments are booked online, for confirmation payment is taken when booking your appointment. You can pay via stripe or via bank transfer when making block bookings.

I accept all major credit cards. 

Cancellations
I require 48 hours in advance to cancel an appointment . In such cases a 95% refund will be made. If less than 48 hours notice is given 0% of fee is refunded.

Rescheduling an appointment.
I require 48 hours in advance to reschedule an appointment . The easiest way to reschedule is to send a text to the office with

• your full name
• appointment time and date
• time and date you would ideally like to reschedule.

and your appointment will be re-scheduled depending on availability. 

I understand life happens and if you need to reschedule I will always try my utmost to accommodate but cannot guarantee re-scheduling on the same day due to prior client commitments.

Having said that if you are having problems with timings please talk to me – I am open for dialogue and we may find some interesting work in such conversation. Yasmin

I understand at times situations are out of our hands but if you arrive late for your appointment I will have to finish our session at the scheduled time due to the fact I will most likely have other clients scheduled.I will not be able to extend your time, despite my good intentions.

At the time you might feel I don’t care, or you may feel annoyed with me. It is O.K to feel like this – and if we discuss this it can bring some interesting work into the therapy room.

A counselling/ psychotherapy session lasts a full 60 minutes. I advise clients to log onto their session 5- 10 minutes prior to their appointment so they are able to settle in.

This depends on the client and the challenge they are facing. The most common is one a week. Some clients will have two a week or more if working on particular goals. Occasionally clients will have one every two weeks.

I also offer single session therapy and work with clients who are seeking ad hoc counselling or intensive therapy to overcome a particular challenge.

If you have signed up to a program – then it is as stated.

I work online with young people over the age of 14, emerging adults, adults, older adults, couples and parents.

Zoom. This can be accessed from your web browser. 

In some cases online therapy is not a suitable method for what the client is facing. In this case I will always discuss this with you openly and if need me refer you on to a therapist who will suit your specific needs.

Most definitely  “no”.  Change, acceptance,  shame, guilt, denial  ….. boy these are difficult emotions. It takes time and hard work to make change. But the results are worth it. 

Quite often counselling and therapy can initially be painful but rest assured that I will try my upmost to ensure you are safe by the end of your session.

I have a proven track record of achieving positive results with clients.

Recent studies from the International Centre For Clinical Excellence showed that 80% of clients in Counselling and Therapy end up better off than those who didn’t seek help. Sometimes the results are not always immediate, so you may think it’s not working.

Working together of a time period will bring us closer together during our collaborative working relationship. At the same time, I adhere to the strictest of ethical guidelines set out by the BACP and am unable to offer clients a relationship extending out of the therapy room.

This doesn’t mean at times I don’t or I won’t think of past and present clients with a certain fondness. 

This is a really common worry. What will my counsellor think of me?

All counsellors are trained to be non-judgmental in their approach and to respect differences and diversity. If you do feel judged, try and open up to me about how you’re feeling. It could help you clear obstacles.

Remember as well that how much you tell me, and what you tell me, is up to you. Pace yourself if you need to, so you build trust with me gradually. So if a few sessions later you tell me something different than from the start. Thats O.K for me.

You don’t have to worry that I might judge you. I would just think you weren’t ready then and now you are. Wow we have made progress. Once you feel safe, you may find you can’t stop talking  which will feel empowering!

Crying is normal and could happen at any point during counselling.

This is something we will discuss in our assessment and agree on as I do appreciate everyone has different cultures and expectations. Quite often I will agree on virtual hugs – provided either by the eyes,  or me blowing you a hug. This I find keeps people safe, yet also acknowledges the value and meaning of a hug.

To feel able to cry during your sessions can feel really empowering. Recognise that your feelings are important and someone can be there for you. Also, crying can give you a new way of expressing yourself, containing and naming your emotions, soothing yourself, and understanding your feelings.

Even if I seem understanding I will end your session anyway, this I understand can cause you all types of confusion and you could end up thinking things like:

• Does she even care?
• Why can’t she give me some more time?
• No one is there for me
• Wow could she just do that?
• She calls herself a qualified therapist?
• I feel so low and alone.

These feelings are important, so share them with me as they happen. Or maybe write them down when you get home and bring it with you to the next session. You may want me to extend my time with you but, generally, I won’t be able to do this.

Try and plan your therapy days so you don’t have to rush off somewhere straight afterwards. Give yourself time before and after your session to re-calibrate yourself back into the world.

I am a firm believer that clients can help themself through psychoeducation – this is education of therapy interventions or theories which they can use at home. I will often recommend resources, films, books or cards if I feel it is appropriate. 

I use Linkedin for business to business contacts. At times I will also use Linkedin to connect with clients if they reach out to me through this way of contact.

I use Facebook and Instagram for business purposes. I also have a personal Facebook page which as its name suggests is for personal purposes. I do not use this for clients or messaging connected to therapy.

Nor do I accept friend requests from potential or previous clients. This is to ensure all boundaries are met as listed in the BACP ethical framework. 

• All records are the property of the Counselling Service but, in compliance with GDPR, you have a right of access to all records kept on you. This Act requires us to inform you of the data we hold on you, and whether and how it is accessible to you. The information I hold is kept confidentially. It is only in cases of serious risk of harm that there is ever any question of information being passed on without the explicit consent of the client, or where the courts require us to provide information by law. The Service adheres to the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.

Records kept in the Service

• Registration details. Clients approaching us are asked to complete an online registration form, providing names and contact details. This information form is stored in a password protected Database, accessible only by members of the Counselling Service Team.
•  Demographic data. All demographic data, which will be used anonymously for statistical analysis and reporting, is stored on a secure digital database. Access to this database is restricted to the Counselling Service Team and cannot be accessed outside of this Service.
• Records of the sessions. These are brief confidential records written by your counsellor about the content of the sessions they undertake with clients and entered onto the client’s file on our secure database after every session.
• The time scale for storage of records. All client information is deleted after 7 years unless the client is still active within the service.

If you wish to access your records

• We advise firstly that you discuss with your counsellor what the records would be for and the potential impact of releasing your records.
• If you wish to continue we ask you to send us a release of records request email.
• You can arrange another appointment where you and your counsellor can go through the records.
• If you agree that releasing a copy of the records is appropriate, you will need to sign the release of notes consent form. You will also need to produce proof of identity.
• Records of what is discussed and agreed to will be kept in your file in the service on our secure digital database.

Please follow our complaints procedure which can be found here: 

If you are still not satisfied, you may wish to refer your complaint to a third party such as the Ombudsman Services or Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) who can investigate it further on your behalf.

We will provide any necessary information they request for them to carry out their investigations