Katharine Hunter

I currently have availability and can be flexible at this time.  I can work online or have people over to my home for 1 to 1 counselling.

I have over 10 years of experience working as a counsellor.  I work with 3 modalities primarily.  Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment (ACT).  I have worked extensibly with adults and young people from all walks of life and with varying issues.  

I have just come back from pracising in New Zealand where I lived for many years and have a wealth of experience in working with many different communities such as: LGBTIQ, the culturally diverse, socio economically deprived, indigenous Maori community, abuse victims, depression and anxiety, grief and suicide and self-harm. 

I have experience in working both long and short term with my clients and can offer in-depth psychological interventions as well as short term coping skills.

It is my passion to work alongside any client who is suffering and I provide a person-centred approach.  I believe that my position is to work together towards goals that the client may have.  And to help clients establish what those goals might be.

Regardless of how many sessions a client would like, I always start the first session with rigorous contracting and assessment.  I believe this is essential in moving on to whatever the issues at hand are.  It provides a basis of how client and therapists agree to work together within an ethical framework.  

I believe that there is not just one modality that fits all, and can find it valuable to use several according to their individual needs.

Each session I will ask how they have been since the last session and touch on what may have changed for them, whether negative or positive.  I would ask whether there has been a change in the goals that have been previously spoken about.  I am very aware at how different things can be from one week to another and believe it to be imperative to work with a flexible approach towards thereputic interventions.

First session needs to be about contracting.  I may well offer the client a lower fee as it is very important to build a rapport and of course the client needs to feel that I am a good 'fit' for them.  I would be unhappy for the client to feel that I was not right for them and for them to go away feeling they had just 'lost' money.

I always like to go through an assessment with the client personally.  Additional questions can often come up, depending on how the assessment goes.