The first one-three therapy sessions are an extended assessment, which is a chance to tell your story. With Melissa you can think together about what you have been experiencing that you would like to be different in your life and what the context is that this has been happening within. This can include talking about your background, life factors and cultural influences that are important to you. From this, Melissa and you can create a beginning formulation, which is a shared understanding of what you are experiencing, what is making you feel stuck and what to work towards over sessions to create change. This can be a powerful experience in itself. It’s also a time for Melissa to build the therapeutic relationship with you, by understanding how you most appreciate care being offered to you.

Each therapy session lasts for 50 minutes, the other ten minutes are used for Melissa to write her process notes from the session.

Often Melissa will invite you to focus on an intention, task or piece of work between sessions, to help bring therapy into your day to day life.

Melissa works in blocks of six, having part of the sixth session to check-in with how therapy is feeling, reflect on what is and isn’t helpful, and create a plan to continue working together. This way therapy remains collaborative, responsive and centred on you.

What therapy model Melissa will be using will depend on what you are experiencing and wanting support for. (have a look at the resource page that is in development for a free resource explaining different types of psychology models). In this way Melissa builds a bespoke therapeutic treatment package for you based on what you are experiencing, your goals and your unique preferences for care.

There may be a specific focus of the therapy work, for example:

on processing trauma, finding calm from anxiety or panic, being at peace after loss, reconnecting to our sense of selves or building the relationship we have with ourselves or others.

Or you may choose to have a more open explorative format to sessions.

Each session costs £120.

Melissa has two slots available on a sliding scale depending on life circumstances.

Melissa can offer online sessions on zoom

Or in person sessions in Bristol. These are held on Gloucester / Cheltenham Road at the Arches Therapy Room.