I offer both face to face and online counselling sessions. Measures have been put in place to ensure that everybody's safety is met when working face-to-face at my office in Tardebigge Court. Online sessions are available to over 18's in the UK. Please contact me for further details on more details on how my socially distanced therapy sessions and/or online counselling is operating.

Yes, sometimes people want to check out if counselling is the right decision for them and if they feel comfortable enough to work with me, so I offer a no obligation 30 minute initial consultation at Tardebigge Court (£30) for this reason. Please note that I do not offer telephone counselling or consultations and are currently only working with individuals over the age of 18. ​ You will be asked for brief details at this stage about what has bought you to seek counselling and we shall look at how I can help you at this time according to your needs. If referral to another therapy service is needed, this will be discussed with you at this time. *Please state clearly if you wish to have this 30 minute consultation when contacting Quintessence, otherwise a full 1 hour session will be arranged.

We will look through the Expectations agreement together. This outlines areas such as the cancellation and confidentiality policy and what to expect from counselling. You will then be asked to fill out a Registration form and sign a consent form which allows me to hold your personal details securely on file in accordance with GDPR Data Protection regulations. We then look further at the you issues you wish to bring to counselling and how I work within the person centred approach. You are encouraged to ask any questions that are on your mind during this session in order to make a decision whether I am the most suitable counsellor to work with. If I feel that I am not the right person to help you at this time, I may be able to refer you to somewhere that can and this will be communicated to you. Also, if you do not feel that I am suitable for you, you are under no obligation to continue sessions.

Yes, I work with clients via the video platform Microsoft Teams. This service is accessable to anyone in the UK over the age of 18 years.

You may only need a few sessions to help you get back on track. You may need longer depending on what you would like to talk about in counselling. Everyone is different. I offer both short and long term counselling. A minimum of 6-8 sessions is usually required to enable a professional relationship to develop and for you to be able to fully trust in the counselling process. You may have had some counselling before possibly via a GP referral which had stopped before you felt you got anywhere or you have been waiting for NHS counselling for too long and want to start now. Private Counselling does not have that issue; it is down to you how long you want to have counselling for and this will be reviewed periodically by both parties. Counselling is an investment in your time and money so understanding that although it may not be a "quick-fix" approach, change and healing does take time so it is important to have realistic expectations of the therapeutic process and you are ready to be open and honest with what is on your mind to get the most out of counselling. Sessions last for an hour, every week to be able to work most effectively together. The last 10 minutes will be a summary of our session and time to gather yourself together before leaving the room.

Quintessence Counselling provides confidential Counselling and Psychotherapy for Individuals that are over 18 years of age. I do not provide counselling for Couples or under 18's at this time. 1 hour Counselling session (face to face or online): £60 30 minute Consultation at Tardebigge Court : £30 For Employment Assistance Programmes (EAP) and Corporate bookings, please contact me for prices.

You are welcome to pay by Bank Transfer, Cash* or Card**. Payment is required at the time of arranging your appointment to secure the booking. If after 24 hours, payment has not been made, the appointment time will released to others who contact me and I cannot guarantee the same availability after this. Ongoing sessions are then paid a week in advance and follow the 48 hour cancellation policy outlined in these FAQ's. * If paying by Cash: double session fee is required at the first session, which covers the first and the next session in advance. Receipts are available on request. ** Card payments are available in session or via payment link for advance payments.

Any changes that result in cancellation, postponement or non-attendance of appointments will be charged in full if less than 48 hours’ notice is given. Please note that after a missed chargeable appointment, all outstanding fees must be paid in order to secure your next session.

Sessions are available by appointment between: Tue: 9:00am - 5:00pm Wed: 9:00am - 4:30pm Thu: 9:00am - 4:30pm ​ Quintessence Counselling offers weekly sessions at the same time each week and operates a 48 hour Cancellation Policy.

As I do not offer telephone counselling please contact me via one of the methods below. Email: kat@quintessencecounselling.com Text only: 07599786118 Contact Form If you contact me out of office hours I will get back to you as soon as I can the next working day. Please let me know if there are any times that may not be convenient for me to contact you (because of privacy issues etc.) Any information you disclose is confidential. Before contacting me, it is important that you are aware of my Privacy Policy which can be found here.

You are more than welcome to contact me on behalf of somebody else. However when it comes to arranging a session I would need to communicate directly with the person who will be attending the counselling sessions. It is important that they wish to come to counselling for their own reasons and do not feel "backed into a corner" as only those willing to participate in the therapeutic process will benefit. I only accept payment arrangements with the client directly and not through a third party.

Our work together remains confidential, however, there are some exceptions to this: If a serious safeguarding issue is disclosed Disclosure of immediate harm to self or others. Disclosure of serious crimes such as terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering for example. If required by court *Disclosure to any third party will always be discussed with you unless I feel that you or others are at immediate serious harm/risk. Please see the Quintessence Counselling Privacy Policy here for more detailed information.

Details can be found on the About Kat page about my relevant Qualifications and experience. I am listed on the National Counselling and Psychotherapist Society (NCPS) accredited Register. This ensures that I have the relevant qualifications to work ethically and professionally as a counsellor. This register is regulated by the Professional Standards Agency (PSA). ​ My Senior Accredited membership (SNCPS acc.) also requires me to take a minimum of 30 hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) per year to keep my knowledge and skills up to date. ​ ​

My cosy counselling room is located at Tardebigge Court, Hewell Lane, Redditch, B97 6QW, UK. Directions to Tardebigge Court by car, bus and train can be found here I also offer online counselling sessions for anyone anywhere in the UK.

As a Senior Accredited Member of the NCPS, I am required to attend a minimum of 1.5 hours a month of supervision. A Supervisor in this instance is not like a 'manager', but someone that I can talk to in confidence in order to make sure I am working ethically and to the best of my ability with all of my clients. I never disclose any identifiable information in these sessions and my supervisor is held to the same confidentiality policy as I am. Supervision is also used for me to explore any areas of professional development that I feel I need to undertake to expand my knowledge and skills.

Brief notes may be taken from each session for supervision purposes. These will be kept in a secure location, but separate from your contact information, and will remain confidential unless a safeguarding issues arises. In the unlikely even I would ever need to disclose your information to a third party, I would seek your consent before doing so, unless in an emergency situation. Reasons for disclosure can be found in my privacy policy here. All information will be kept for 5 years (as required by Law) and will be destroyed after this date in line with GDPR.

If you or anyone you know are in an emergency situation or facing a crisis, please contact: GP or out-of hours GP for an emergency appointment NHS on 111 Your local Mental Health Crisis Team Accident & Emergency department Police (Emergency on 999 or non-emergency on 101) The Samaritans (116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org) Woman's Aid- 24 hour Domestic Abuse Helpline (0808 2000 247) Men's Advice Line (0808 801 0327)