Robin Fenwick-Smith

The decision to seek counselling is often a difficult one and seeking help can involve a great deal of courage. The relationship between the client and the therapist is perhaps the most powerful agent of change in the process of therapy.

With this in mind the process begins with an initial assessment session which has two primary aims. You can meet me and get a feel of who I am and the way I work and whether that fits for you. I get a sense of where you are, what has been happening and ensure that I am definitely the right person to help.

This depends on the issues that we work with and the aims you have. I am happy to work on either a short term or longer term basis. In practice I am used to working with clients for any period from a single session to multiple years. Shorter term work may often involve resolving an immediate crisis or learning practical skills / strategies. Longer term work can focus on resolving more complex issues or examining any contributing underlying factors. 

A one to one session of therapy lasts for 50 minutes and costs £75 per hour in Haslemere or Guildford in Surrey and £120 per hour in London. 

While it is true to say that there is no one size fits all approach to psychological therapeutic work, my aim is to demonstrate ethical practice and effectiveness in my work as much as I can. In practical terms I try and achieve this by:

• Using theory and techniques which have been scientifically proven to be effective.

• Using a professionally endorsed outcome measure to ascertain change.

• Adhering to the BACP framework for ethical practice. 

As an integrative practitioner I use a blend of different schools of psychological theory that I believe best effect change, fit my personality and are supported by scientific evidence. In practice I integrate elements of the psychodynamic, humanistic and cognitive behavioural (CBT) approaches. I have a particular interest in attachment theory and the implications that can have for how we feel about ourselves and what our relationships with others are like.