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PLEASE NOTE we do not provide emergency mental health care, if you urgently require assistance then you need to contact your GP, your out of hours service or A&E where you will be signposted appropriately. You could also try contacting THE SAMARITANS

If you would like to find out more about counselling and psychotherapy services at The Way Forward Centre, then please read on.

Counselling Adults

Through gentle exploration within a non-judgemental, valuing and empathic relationship, counselling will enable you to express your feelings and bring clarity to your experience.

Counselling offers the opportunity to talk through whatever is going on for you in a private and safe setting, with someone who listens carefully and deeply to your experience. A counsellor will not tell you what to do or give you the answers to your questions but they will empower you to make your own decisions and to strive to reach your full potential. A counsellor will help you identify a ‘therapeutic aim’, which will help you focus on what you wish to achieve from your counselling sessions.

You can plan your sessions around your schedule with appointment times being available during office hours, evenings and Saturdays too. Most people have weekly counselling sessions but it is possible to spread your appointments out to fit around your personal timetable or your individual need.

Whatever your situation you can be assured of a sensitive and reassuring welcome and an approach which is responsive to your individual requirements.

All appropriately trained and qualified counsellors work to a specific theoretical and ethical framework. It is important to meet with a counsellor and discuss their approach in the first session in order to decide if they will be a good match for you. Perhaps think of some questions you would like to ask in order to get the most out of that initial session. The following describes what to expect if you choose to engage in counselling with Kirsty Bilski.

Dr Kirsty Bilski …

is a BACP Accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist, She aims to provide a therapeutic experience characterised by acceptance, genuine warmth and understanding within a safe and confidential setting. A gentle approach which pays close attention to your individual story, allowing you to explore your difficulties whilst experiencing sensitivity, respect and valuing.

Kirsty often works creatively making use of a wide variety of art materials and therapeutic techniques including Sand Tray. For those who prefer not to work with creative materials, Kirsty is equally at home using traditional methods of talking therapy. She continues to be committed to professional academic development through studying towards a PhD at the University of South Wales, Newport.

For those of you who want the theoretical detail Kirsty's approach to therapy is largely Humanistic (Person Centered, Gestalt and Existential), with the core conditions of empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard very much at the foundation of her work. A lot of her creative approach is placed within a Gestalt frame although she also integrates aspects of Psychodynamic Theory, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Systemic Theory, Solution Focused Approaches, Motivational and Psychoeducational Techniques. Spiritual and Transpersonal philosphy are also present in her approach. Kirsty works at significant emotional depth with her clients, forming a trusting and therapeutically holding relationship, this being the catalyst to emotional healing.

As an Integrative therapist, Kirsty uses a mixture of the above approaches in order to adapt and meet the needs of each individual client. From traditional approaches for talking therapy to more creative and artistic techniques, each client has the opportunity to explore their experience as they choose to and at their own pace.  To learn more about Kirsty's experience please click HERE

Your First Appointment

When you attend for your first appointment, Kirsty will go through a contract with you and explore what has brought you to counselling, to gain an overview of your story. The contract does not commit you to lots of sessions, it is about how you will work together, the boundaries and what to expect. It is a working agreement together. You will decide on what you would like to achieve from your therapy, your ‘Aims’, and Kirsty will also explain how you will undergo a regular review to see how you are progressing through the process. At the end of the first session you will decide together if further appointments would be useful. At Way Forward, we want you to be entirely comfortable with your therapeutic experience, to make considered choices about what you would like to achieve, and to understand what the process entails. Please feel free ask questions about the process, Kirsty is very used to answering questions so please feel free to ask whatever comes to mind.

Contract, Boundaries and Confidentiality

When you meet for the first time Kirsty will go through a contract with you, this will explain the professional boundaries which surround counselling, it will help you to understand what you can expect from your counselling experience. You will learn about practical issues such as parking, cost and length of each session. Kirsty will also ask you questions around any previous counselling or any specific mental health treatment or diagnosis you may have had.

Kirsty will also ask you about how you are feeling, and will assess whether you are at risk of hurting yourself or causing yourself significant harm. This is so she can work out how best to help you. If you are at significant risk Kirsty would help you construct a ‘safe plan’ to enable you to maintain your emotional health and wellbeing, along with engaging other professionals who will support you in your care. She will work with you to promote your autonomy whilst also being mindful of keeping you safe, so you can find a positve way forward in life.

Any information you disclose to Kirsty will be held with the deepest respect and within the usual boundaries of confidentiality, it will enable her to assess how best to help you and to be mindful of your individual needs. Whatever you disclose in the session will remain confidential unless there is concern you may be at significant risk of harm, or someone you know may be at risk of harm. Kirsty will explore confidentiality in more depth with you when you meet so you are clear about the established and lawful limits of confidentiality. This aspect is understandably really important to clients and also central to building the foundations of a trusting relationship.

Counsellors write notes about their work with each client. At Way Forward you can be confident that all notes are handwritten and stored safely for 7 years, no clients notes are stored online and we are not linked to any healthcare networks. We adhere to data protection legislation including GDPR 2018. If you are an ongoing client, or have already completed your counselling, and would like to have a copy of the information we hold about you, please complete a subject access request (for information visit the ICO) and you will be able to obtain a copy of your notes. After 7 years your notes will be destroyed.

Aims & Measures

Kirsty will pay careful attention to the therapeutic aims you choose. Making this clear at the beginning will enable you to have more understanding and control over the therapy as it unfolds. This gives the counselling process intentionality, a sense of direction and purpose. 

Kirsty will also talk to you about 'CORE Outcome Measures', these are a routine way of monitoring your process of change through therapy. They are brief ‘tick box’ forms which you will be asked to complete at the beginning of each session. They will also form a part of your regular review process as they help to track your progress. You can ask to see your Outcome Measures at any time, this information may also be used as a focus at times in therapy.

Clients often find reviewing their outcome measure data quite satisfying. As you go through your therapeutic journey you may forget how you were feeling at the beginning, the measures give a way of comparing how you ‘were’ feeling at the beginning with any evidence of therapeutic change that has occurred.

How long will counselling take?

This is a very difficult question to answer as everyone is different. Sometimes clients attend counselling for only a few sessions, sometimes they choose to attend for much longer, it really depends on the reasons you are attending therapy. Kirsty is happy to work with you for as long as you wish to attend and you are actively working towards your identified aims. Some reasons for attending therapy will naturally take longer than others. For instance, someone who has experienced long term and extensive historical abuse in childhood can expect to require more therapy than someone attending who wants to build their confidence and self esteem.

Attending therapy is expensive, so you may wish to approach it with a set number of sessions you can afford in mind. Make sure you discuss this with Kirsty as it will be important to set achievable aims for the time you have decided to attend. You can also choose to spread your appointments out and attend as frequently as is suitable for your needs.

As the process unfolds, whether attending a few sessions or for a longer period of time, it will be important to pay attention to the ending process. No matter how long you have attended for, it is usual to have ‘an ending’ session which is an arranged conclusion to therapy. A well managed ending offers the opportunity to consolidate what you have learnt, celebrate the changes you have made and to bring closure to the process. If you have decided to work together with Kirsty over a longer period of time, you will receive a regular review every 6 to 8 sessions to check your progress and to make sure you are still benefiting from counselling. You can end your counselling at any time, however it is useful to remember the importance of having a closing session.

If you feel you would like to know more then please telephone, text or email with your enquiry. At Way Forward we understand that everyone’s story is unique and we will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.