Once you have decided to book my FREE 25 minute online consultation, you can simply click “book a session” and pick a date that is available to speak to me directly on a digital platform. This will normally be either Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. Enter your personal details, make sure you read the Privacy Policy ( in accordance with GDPR regulations) and click book. That’s it! Then you will receive an email to confirm and you can contact me anytime if you have any changes to make or can not make the session for any reason. You will also receive a link from me after that to sign into the digital platform. Any issues, just let me know.
Once we are in the consultation session, you will have the chance to give me an overview of your struggles and issues and together we will discuss what counselling is, what I offer including my professional qualifications, and how I could best tailor a programme that suits your own personal needs and requirements. After this, it’s up to you. If you want to book any paid sessions (online), you can do this using my website directly and choose the dates that are available. Discounts are also available for active clients and new clients who sign up via friends and family, so don’t forget to quote who you came through too!
If you want face-to-face (F2F), you can discuss this in session, and I will check availability with the therapy rooms at Kings Hill (Kent). Once a booking has been made (either online or with me directly for F2F) then you will be sent an email confirming bank account details to transfer payment 24 hours before your session. Until payment is received, a session will not be able to take place and a room booking is not guaranteed.
Both terms are generally used interchangeably but they both refer to talking therapy. Counselling tends to be slightly shorter and works with interventions that might stay more in the present, rather than working on unresolved childhood trauma for example.
Counselling is effectively a safe space for clients to talk freely, without feeling judged. The counsellor will use relevant trained and up-to-date therapy modalities (I work as an integrative therapist who taps into many theories and interventions depending on the client’s needs).
Ethnical Counsellors (who are members of the BACP) do not give advice, but will offer a calm, empathic and congruent, safe environment that promotes transformative and empowering change within the client in an unconditionally positive way and they are not permitted to offer a diagnosis of symptoms or behavioural disorders but they can explore the client’s own hypothesis (like a client who might feel autistic for example) and offer effective signposting, support, and empathy for the client to feel heard and validated in their feelings and work collaboratively to explore their thoughts and own analysis.
If you need an official diagnosis, you can do this through referral via your GP and they can signpost you further. You can also request to seek FREE counselling services (referral) although there can be a long waitlist.
Psychotherapy is exactly the same as counselling although it tends to go somewhat deeper and might be more appropriate for clients who want to look at past unresolved issues, such as childhood trauma from different forms of abuse or deep grief and loss for example. If you visit Trauma and Abuse psychotherapy services, you can learn more about the process here.
Sometimes, clients come for shorter term counselling or CBT therapy and unravel repressed traumas or PTSD symptoms they didn’t even know they had and remain in therapy for a lot longer. Expect to stay open-minded to learning a lot about yourself in the process and do not expect miracles in a short time. Many clients do not always see immediate effects after 3-6 sessions. It can take time and patience to build trust again, find the words to express and let go. The key to effective healing is the positive nature of the relationship you have with your therapist. If you feel comfortable to fully open up, then you are with the right counsellor. Give it a try and see how it feels.
https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/what-is-counselling/
Yes. Either word can be used and refers to talking therapy. It’s about offering clients a safe space to work through their issues at their own pace. CBT tends to be called a ‘therapy’ and is type of modality used with clients that offers effective outcomes for specific types of problems, like OCD/Intrusive thoughts for example.
You can found out more in our CBT Therapy services and go to the FAQ section on this topic. You will be given a bespoke programme during the consultation process, and it will become a lot clearer then. You can ask all your questions there too.
This depends very much on the type of therapy that you have, and how long you feel you want to do therapy for. In the consultation process, you will be guided to a programme that suits your own needs and you will be given an idea of the number of sessions to aim for with a review at the end of each.
Clients can have anywhere between 6-20 sessions for CBT therapy and for longer-term therapy can last as long as you need! Some clients benefit from therapy so much, that they want to continue for a year or even longer. There is no set time-limit, but the aim is to give you the tools and support to move forward and live an independent life away from therapy, and a positive therapeutic ending is all part of that process.
All sessions are the same each time. This cannot be changed as it runs in line with the ethical framework of the BACP (British Association of Counselling and psychotherapists). All session are 50 minutes to 1 hour.
Yes, it works for clients who are genuinely ready to address their own internal struggles and realise it is a two-way relationship. Client’s need to be prepared to work honestly on themselves and be patient and trust the process. Research has shown that for counselling to be most effective, it is the relationship itself between the counsellor and the client that has the greatest impact, when it is based on trust and respect between two people, then this alone can often be enough to lead to significant change within a client, particularly when they felt understood and validated in their feelings and struggles.
Whilst the type of counselling theory or modality used can have a big impact on a client’s positive outcome (humanistic PCA, CBT, Inner child work, Psychodynamic etc.) it is actually predominantly the strength of the relationship itself that matters most.
A client can expect to notice changes when their moods become more consistent and stable and they tend to have more energy and a more positive outlook on life generally. A sort of lightness and hope begins to emerge and clients then tend to go from strength to strength. It has been described as a heavy burden being lifted off a person’s shoulders.
No, you can self-refer and choose any counsellor privately or with an agent. You can go through your GP and they might refer you to their own signposting services or free NHS services, but waitlists can be long because they tend to be limited free services. Private counselling is available to everyone and can be voluntary or chargeable depending on the service you require or the agent/counsellor itself.
Once you have had your FREE consultation, you can ask for a Face-to-Face (F2F) session and I will book a space that is available directly with the room bookings (therapy rooms) in Kings Hill. An email will be sent before giving full instructions, payment information to pay 24 hours before the session.
When you arrive on the day, you can use the allocated parking at the building. There is a fee to pay, or you can park at the closest parking surrounding the building sometimes for free. Each session is 50 minutes to 1 hour in duration. There is a dedicated reception area and I will come out and greet you.
The session will last for up to 1 hour and during this time you have the space and freedom to discuss any issues that are bothering you. On the first session, we will agree a therapeutic contract (mutually) and work at a pace that suits your own personal needs. If you need to cancel the session, due to sickness or emergency, please contact me on my business line at the top of my website. Refunds are not available once a booking has been made and paid for, due to limited space and room hire charges. However, if you need to change a date due to unforeseen circumstances, you may be able to do this with a minimum of 48 hours’ notice, subject to room availability but this is not guaranteed or we can agree to hold that session online instead (so that you don’t lose the money you paid for the session). This works best for most clients and they often have just as effective sessions online too.
With online counselling, you have more freedom to change your bookings and access them from the comfort of your own home or office space. You can also use your cancelled F2F session and use it as an online one instead, so long as you give me at least 48 hours notice of cancellation or change for the F2F session. Subject to availability. Any issues, feel free to contact me via this page and we will come to some agreement.
Online counselling can also now be accessed by many different programs now. I tend to use Microsoft TEAMs or Google Meet, but if you do not have access to this, don’t worry, you can also use Skype or Zoom if necessary. Sometimes it is trial and error depending on WIFI connections. If there are issues from my end, I will always offer another session to replace the one that couldn’t take place or offer you a telephone session instead. Please ensure that you set up any download before your first session, and ensure you trial it out with someone to make sure it works efficiently. I cannot offer a refund to a session if the issue arises your end, but you can move to telephone counselling for that particular week until the issue is resolved.
I am fully trained to work with online clients, and my clients have found the process just as effective, if not more so, than face-to-face counselling. There are a few important etiquettes to consider with online sessions, such as making sure you are in a private space, where no one can hear you, and ensuring you are in safety at all times and not distracted. You will be asked to put your camera on and I often share intervention work online to aid the therapy process. Clients who work online have expressed positive feedback about the process. You will be briefed on all of this during the FREE consultation process and will have the chance to ask questions too.
As the founder of Bright4life, I work in line with the ethical guidelines of the BACP (British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists) as a full member (BACP). They guide all members to ensure full confidentiality at all times at the start of therapy and agree to join terms provided through a therapeutic contract and mutually agreed at the start of the sessions.
There are some exceptions such as:
1. If your counsellor believes that you or another person (s) or public is at risk of serious harm
2. To seek professional clinical supervisor guidance and support to aid better outcomes and safety measures that ensure the highest possible standard of care and well-being for the client.
The counsellor’s clinical supervisor is always bound by the BACP ethnical guidelines and client’s personal information is not shared to any third party.
Any personal information held on you (such as name and address etc.) is held in the strictest of confidence in accordance with the BACP’s guidelines and the data protection act and GDPR regulations (see privacy policy). This will be discussed on your first session and any questions you may have can be discussed in the consultation process too.
There are different levels of depression and reasons why people become depressed. Some only experience mild forms of depression that last less than a few weeks and short-term therapy such as CBT therapy may be sufficient to help a client to move forward positively after 3-6 sessions.
Other types of depression are longer lasting and range in severity. The worst kind of depression is clinical depression and is defined as a person being unable to function on a day-to-day basis and experiencing a sense of hopelessness and despair and possible suicide ideation; and this feeling needs to have lasted for a prolonged period of time from around 3 weeks and more.
Some clients experience depression for many years, and do not know exactly why. The type of therapy therefore depends on each person and how they respond to different kinds of modalities. Both CBT and trauma psychodynamic models with holistic healing can equally work well for clients providing they have a solid, trusting relationship with their therapist and feel comfortable to express themselves openly and freely in a confidential safe space.
Visit our CBT therapy or Trauma and Abuse Counselling section for more information
In a similar way to depression, anxiety can affect people in varying degrees. Some only experience milder forms of anxiety that affect their lives in minor ways, but generally can function on a day-to-day basis. Other clients on the other hands, have more severe forms of anxiety that debilitate their ability to function, they can develop symptoms such as panic attacks, PTSD or Complex PTSD, they might experience physical symptoms (muscle pains, joint issues, migraines, gut issues/IBS, autoimmune issues, OCD and intrusive thoughts and phobias, plus many more) that all have their roots in anxiety and staying stuck in survival (fight, flight, freeze and fawn modes).
Anxiety can also be linked to past traumas that are unresolved and affect a client in their adulthood and get worse over the years. Most, if not all my clients, have presented with some form of anxiety, and most forms of therapy modalities can and do hugely help clients with anxiety symptoms. CBT is used for some types of anxiety and offers a more goal-focus intervention, whilst with some trauma clients, I find that working in a more holistic way (mind, body and soul) allows clients the best chance to fully heal. See my services for more information on this or ask me about this in the free consultation session.
As a general rule, no I try not to. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, the process of counselling needs to ensure the best possible therapeutic space for the client to feel heard, understood and for empathy to be enhanced by the counsellor. This isn’t as effective as seeing clients face-to-face or online via a clear screen.
Being able to see client’s facial mood and emotional expression is essential to the healing process and therefore I prefer to offer online or face-to-face as a first option. In the event of an online connection issue on the client’s side (due to WIFI signal problems), I will give clients the opportunity to run the session on the telephone if they want to. If the issue is clearly on my end, I will offer clients another online session at a later date or offer them the chance to do on the telephone if they want to.
I am trained to counsellor able to work with adults, children and couples and I have qualified up to a level 4 diploma (by the ABC awards accreditation certification board) in Therapeutic Counselling (this is 4 years of study to reach that point). This allows me to work as an integrative counsellor working with a number of modalities such as psychodynamic (working on unresolved past issues), CBT (Cognitive Behavioural therapy) and Person-Centred theories (Maslow, Rogers) in a humanistic way.
I am also specialised in trauma and abuse-recovery with somatic healing and Polyvagal theory experience helping clients with all forms of abuse counselling in certification with Evergreen Certifications and PESI. I have extensive knowledge and experience of working with domestic abuse and recovery programmes, all forms of abuse and trauma-related issues and somatic and psychosensory healing (tapping, mindfulness, meditation, somatic movement and grounding, including psyco-educational neuroscience knowledge and resources).
I see all issues from a range of clients from all backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and religions; and I welcome all clients (male, female, and young people ages 12-17) as a culturally sensitive therapist. I am a specialist in Trauma and Abuse recovery, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and Youth Therapy and coaching services for faith-based and Parent support services.
These are some of the issues that clients come to therapy for (although there are many more not mentioned):
– Mild to clinical depression
– General Anxiety Disorders (GAD) and/or stress
– Complex PTSD and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
– OCD, intrusive thoughts, and phobias
– Neurodiversity issues (in adults and children) such as Autism and ADHD, Dyspraxia etc
– Family, relationship, or marriage or cultural issues
– Grief and loss (from death of loved one, divorce, loss from illness, job etc.)
– Trauma: Past childhood problems or relationship problems
– Abuse: All forms of abuse; Narcissistic abuse, childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual abuse, financial abuse, Neglect, emotional, physical, or psychological abuse, domestic abuse, religious abuse of all kinds both adults and children
– Work or school issues, such as low mood, self-esteem, lack of motivation and identity, bullying and abuse
– Communication issues
– Feeling sad, isolated, and lonely
– Physical health problems with depression and hopelessness
– Suicide ideation and self-harm
– Fears, phobias of all kinds
– Substance abuse, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and other addictions
– Eating disorders
– Dealing with a cancer diagnosis
– Identity issues
– Bereavement
– Physical issues (Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, ME, CFS, MS, Autoimmune issues, IBS)
– Women’s issues, PMT, Menopause
– Sexuality/Sex issues
– Redundancies/Work Issues or abuse
– Anger management issues
– Jealousy and resentment
– Betrayal
– Guilt and shame
I work with clients with a variety of issues and problems as individuals. Sometimes I work with couples too or parent and child together if needed. My specialist focus is Trauma and Abuse Recovery (Psychodynamic theories, holistic healing (Gestalt theory interventions) with guided drawing for inner child work/healing and somatic movement) and psychoeducation in neuroscience knowledge and intervention, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) including OCD recovery progammes in (ERP) Exposure Response Prevention, and Solution-Focused Therapy (SFA or SFT) and youth counselling and parental support services; and I offer a same-faith Muslim counselling services for adults and youth, as I am a Muslim myself and want to offer clients the chance to integrate their faith within therapy.
No, you can self-refer and choose any counsellor privately or with an agent. You can go through your GP and they might refer you to their own signposting services or free NHS services, but waitlists can be long because they tend to be limited free services. Private counselling is available to everyone and can be voluntary or chargeable depending on the service you require or the agent/counsellor itself.
Yes, I see male clients (online only) and female and young adults (from age 12) either online or face-to-face at my practice in Kings Hill therapy room, Kent. In fact, giving access to both genders has proved critical in making space for everyone to access counselling. Mental health issues affect everyone. Clients come to me from all cultures, ethnicities and backgrounds and it’s very important that people do not suffer in silence or feel excluded from the process of healing and support.
Good question! This is important. Whilst counselling is not officially governed, any truly professional counsellor will be registered with some kind of external body associated with their qualification and experience and this is very important. I am registered with the BACP – the largest counselling and psychotherapeutic professional body in the UK. You can find my membership ID number on my website and here is the link for their service https://www.bacp.co.uk/ or call them to verify my details if you are unsure. Feel free to ask for my qualification certificates, I will happily show you during the free consultation process and share with you at any time because I work with full transparency.
I work strictly to their ethical principles and code of conduct and you can be rest assured that they also have a customer service team, where you can make complaints and seek further guidance on counsellors who are registered with them, giving you absolute peace of mind that you are getting a safe, professional and efficient service that is transparent and ethical.
All counsellors who are registered with the BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists) have a duty to adhere strictly to the Data Protection Act. Any personal information held on you, will never be passed on to any third party without your permission, unless this is requested by the legal authorities or a court of law.
Any notes from sessions are kept are minimal and factual and held for up to 5 years. All personal information is confidential and held securely in a locked environment and not removed off the main business premises, either in soft or hard copy. This will form part of the contract and discussed during the assessment process and be mutually agreed at the start of any session. Any questions you have, feel free to ask. Please ensure you also read and agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions on the bottom of this website and click the relevant agreement for cookies, instructing you how we use, store and manage your data in accordance with GDPR regulations.
Yes, for most countries. I am not insured to work with clients from the United States and Canada as this is not covered on my current insurance policy. So once again, you can rest assured that I take my role very seriously and ensure appropriate cover. If you are not happy with any of my service, you can contact the BACP directly too and quote my personal membership number and name.
