FAQ's

Crea counselling/psychotherapy fees 2023-2024

€85- per 60 mins session Counselling/psychotherapy/IFS therapy 

€100 - per 80 mins  IFS therapy session 

Relationship Counselling / Couple sessions fees

Block-booking Reduction

A €20 reduction applies when 4 weekly sessions are booked and paid in advance. 

Counselling/Psychotherapy fees are subject to review at the start of the academic year ( Sept 2022).

I am keenly aware that people's incomes vary greatly and that therapy is costly. I offer a limited number of therapy slots on a sliding scale.

If you wish to discuss this option please let me know in advance of booking your first therapy session. For low/no cost counselling please check the resource page.

**Sliding scale counselling fees only apply to weekly therapy on a time-limited counselling contract (up to 8 sessions).  

IACP updated information on Irish Health Insurers Cover for counselling sessions with IACP accredited  therapists

VHI

Members are encouraged check their benefits on their own plans via their policy documents or directly with Vhi

Irish Life Health 

Any benefits that allow for visits with either a psychologist/ psychotherapist or counsellor allow members to claim a contribution towards visits to a practitioner who is an accredited member of the IACP. The following benefits offer contributions towards a practitioner who is a member of the IACP (where eligible and up to the amount listed on their plan): 

• Child Psychologist

• Child/ Teen counselling

• Psychologist

• Psycho-oncology counselling

• Psychotherapy and counselling benefit

• Counselling

These benefits are available on a wide range of plans.

Laya Healthcare

AI am an approved laya healthcare psychotherapist/psychologist under therapist Id: 11026. Adult Counselling claim back amount depends on the plan. The counsellor or therapist must be a full member of the Irish Association of Counsellors and Pyschotherapists (IACP),

Members on the ExcelCare, 360 Care, and 360 Care Select, Care Select, ConnectCare, Connect Choice, Connect Choice 500, Connect Simplicity, Control 150 Create, Health Secure Plus, Inspire, Inspire Plus, Prime, Principle, Simply Health Choice, Simply Health Plus, Simply Health Plus 500Total health Complete 175 and Total health Plus are eligible to claim this benefit.

All claims are assessed in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the policy.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND EXCEPTIONS

As an accredited memeber of IACP, I adhere to strict ethical guidelines to protect client confidentiality. In exceptional circumstances, however, counsellors are professionally obliged to break confidentiality. These include:

1. when there is a known or suspected risk to, or potential concern about, a child or children**;
2.  when there is a known or suspected risk of harm to one’s client;
3. when there is a known or suspected risk of harm to some other individual(s)

**Section 14 (1) of the Children First Act, 2015 makes it a legal obligation for mandated persons, like therapists, to report concerns that reach the threshold of 'harm'. Section 14(1)(a) includes cases where an adult discloses past harm suffered as a child. 

If you are under medical supervision your permission may be requested to contact your doctor in order to support you better. However, no information about your counselling will be shared with them without your express consent. 

CLINICAL SUPERVISION 

Accredited counsellors and psychotherapists are required to attend regular clinical supervision with accredited supervisors. The therapist/supervisor professional relationship is bound by confidentiality and does not involve revealing clients' identity. Its purpose is that of maintaining the highest professional standards.

CLIENT RECORDS

I keep a record of attendance including minimal notes about broad session themes, therapeutic modality & interventions used, changes in original counselling agreement (fees/frequency/endings/referrals). To ensure utmost confidentiality, my notes DO NOT contain details on clients' history, reference to mental health diagnoses, or identifying details of the client or other persons mentioned. They are NOT session summaries or process-related observations,  . Client Records are  safely stored and disposed of at the end of therapy.

FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS: Online counselling/psychotherapy

Regarding online therapy some additional considerations apply to ensure our therapy work remains confidential :

• Therapist's location: I provide online counselling sessions from the same Crea Counselling location and counselling room I use for face-to-face work, this ensures better professional boundaries and more confidentiality for you.
• Secure Platform: I use zoom for my online counselling work as it is recommended by experts as a safe, free and user friendly online counselling platform. However, I also use skype if you are more familiar with that. Both zoom and skype video streaming is encrypted.
• Your location: It is important that you find a sufficiently private, quiet and safe space where you feel you will not be disturbed during our online counselling session. If you are unsure about your own privacy during counselling sessions, talk to me about it and we can consider options together.
• Recommendations: Please switch your phone to flight mode and silence any social media updates. Using  headphones is recommended to ensure more privacy and better audio quality.

**Please note that I do not provide assessments, reports or other material to any third persons in insurance claims, mediation or legal disputes.

I kindly ask for 48 hours notice to change or cancel a counselling appointment. 

You can move your session to an online format, by emailing me up to 15 mins prior to our scheduled appointment.

Full fees apply if therapy sessions are not cancelled within 48 hours and I am unable to accommodate an alternative slot for you in the same week. 

Please text me if you are over 5 mins late for our therapy session. Unfortunately, delays cannot be made up at the end of the sessions and will cut into your therapy time.

As we welcome the return to face-to-face counselling. I remain committed to regularly reviewing health and safety procedures in order to protect all my clients.

Precautions I am taking:

• Sanitizer is available in the therapy room for you to use.  
• Tissues are available in the therapy room but I kindly ask clients to dispose of their own tissues after the session. 
• Contact surfaces in the therapy room, such as door handles and chair armrests, are sanitized regularly.
• Windows are opened regularly for ventilation.
• If I contract Covid-19 or any other flu-like virus but my symptoms are mild, I may offer sessions online until I am no longer contagious.

What I am asking of you:

• If you are experiencing cold/flu like symptoms and would still like to attend your appointment, please contact me so that we can arrange your session online. Telephone and online video sessions (via Zoom) are offered as alternatives for clients who live outside Galway or are momentarily unable to attend in person. 
• Please let me know as soon as possible if wish to cancel your session because of illness. My usual cancellation policy will apply.

***Please note that the waiting list for counselling appointments is currently full, feel free to check this site again in a few weeks or contact me to record you interest in future availability

The first step is arranging an initial call, using the crea counselling contact form. Please specify when in the working week you can be reached and I will email you back as soon as I can, with a suggested call-back time. 

When there is a waiting list for counselling and psychotherapy appointments, on our initial conversation we will assess together if this is a good option for you at this time. 

Other useful information you can add to the meassage on your form, is a general idea of your availability to attend counselling appointments and if your working schedule would allow you to keep the same therapy appointment each week. This will help me get a sense of how soon I am likely to be able to offer you a suitable counselling appointment.

read more on first steps

***Please note that the waiting list for counselling appointments is currently full. Feel free to check this site again in a few weeks or get in touch to record your interest in future availability.

Waiting times for counselling appointments tend to be hard to predict. If you feel that you need to start therapy more urgently, I am unfortunately not able to assist you at this time. 

For some pointers on how to find the right therapist, you can click here

Unless you prefer to work on a more open-ended contract, I often suggest we initially commit to 6 weekly sessions 

On session 6 we can review our work and  discuss whether ending the therapy, continuing with weekly sessions or changing the frequency (e.g,  fortnightly). 

If possible, we will keep a regular day and time for out therapy appointment each week.I try as much to be as flexible as possible if you have irregular working hours but expect a 48 hrs notice if you need to reschedule or cancel an appointment ( see Crea Counselling policies above)

Endings are an important stage in therapy. Please allow for one or two closing sessions to consolidate the benefits of the therapy work you have done.

Former clients are welcome to resume counselling at a later stage, or just arrange an occasional therapy session.  Although there may be a waiting list, I do my best to see previous clients as soon as possible.

Meeting with a therapist 'online' for the first the time may feel as strange. A lot of clients are surprised how quickly we can get over the physical distance. 

You don't need to do any preparation for your counselling session. I will simply send you a Zoom link shortly before our appointment time. 

During our first counselling session we may need to iron out technicalities, and ensure we create a secure and conducive space where you can talk freely and confidentially. 

We will also discuss our counselling agreement in more detail and any changes doing therapy online may entail.

If you have not had counselling with me before, you can start telling me what you hope to address in therapy and ask me any questions you may have about my therapy approach and the counselling process.  I may ask you a bit about your history, background, and current circumstances. Trust takes time and I will always respect your choice of how much or how little you are comfortable sharing.  

At the end of the session, we can review how we got on and, if you wish, we can schedule another session. There is no obligation to continue with therapy after our first  meeting.

Your welfare is the primary concern of my counselling work and if I feel online therapy may not be suitable, or another counselling approach might better meet your needs, I will whenever possible try and suggest alternative options  to ensure you get the help you need.