Jon Firth

First Session

Firstly a short phone call _

(This may be after initial email contact, and may be by appointment)  

This call will be a free telephone 'consultation' or in depth 'chat' of approximately 20 minutes, no obligation / cost.

Online or In Person OK - Initial sessions only are 90 minutes (no extra charge) for my 'best practice' thorough intake process. New clients start online initially for first session/s.

Through Covid the efficacy of online Therapy has been unequivocally proven and remains first choice for many clients. Other clients choose 'some and some' all OK with me. 

I am double vaccinated and boosted re Covid -19

I offer Psychotherapy, Counselling, Supervision.

Individual sessions last approximately an hour ( around 60 minutes) ending when a natural stopping point is reached - there is always a decent time gap between clients so there will be no risk of bumping into other clients to protect your privacy and anonymity if attending in person. 

Couples - 90 minutes

My Story

I retrained as a therapist mid life having found therapy incredibly useful and life changing myself during my late twenties, which led to my successful first Professional career and and better Relationships with all those in my Personal and Professional life, and an internal sense of ease and relief - Feeling and Being OK with myself and others.

I am an Accredited Professional with NCPS (their terminology, SCoPEd Band B) I offer Psychotherapy and Counselling.

I am Certificated as meeting New Haven Competencies as a recognised Trauma Focused Therapist.

I hold a post Grad cross modality Certificate in Supervision for talking Therapists and offer Supervision.

I completed 5 years of core training in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy (under UKCP criteria, level 7 / Masters) and will take my UKCP Integrative, and EATA exams in due course leading to  UKCP full membership ( This will mean Band C SCoPEd)

I engage with ongoing CPD on a regular basis, and supervision with supervisors with different ways of understanding people which adds to my own wide and diverse understanding, supporting my compassionate view of people.

Sometimes it's clear why (?) Therapy - An accident, a Bereavement, a Break Up, Work Stress ...........sometimes 'the' unease / muddy thinking / pain / repeated behaviour is more opaque / ambiguous, or things have simply started to go wrong .............

There is no right point in life or age to 'sort yourself out' or see a therapist, no problem that doesn't warrant you getting some help, - the right time, is the right time for YOU - ideally don't leave it until you can't cope or things are on crisis point / gotten really bad. 

I spent years investing in Individual personal therapy, Group therapy, and many therapy Marathons as I trained under the very thorough UKCP regulations, it's very important to choose a therapist who has really done their own work first, and who is as much as possible not going to get mixed up or confused (caught in transferences) with your problems. This does not mean I won't be   'in it with you'   I am empathic and will connect with what is going on for you internally and meet you in that difficult place. This can take a while if working at a deep level for lasting change.

Important Stuff

I believe that some understanding of early childhood experiences - how we got to be the person we are now - is useful / helpful, and that early experiences may be more of an influence than consciously known at the start of therapy, or if not having had any therapy previously. Bringing into awareness past experiences, is important. The past can affect the present, but this doesn't mean therapy will be like an 'archeological dig' - mostly it will be about what is going on for you right now, though sometimes related to formative experiences. I don't believe our character or personality is only dictated by childhood either, it's usually some and some, and that balance is different for each person. 

I also now operate comprehensive Trauma Screening for all new clients.

I am a Humanistic therapist - a talking therapist - though may also use other techniques if helpful for you, such as using stones or other objects to represent family systems, and other creative ways of working due to my Systemic training. I've also done some basic CBT training (but am not a CBT Practitioner)

I'm happy to work outdoors in the kinder weather months if this suits you, contact with the natural environment may be re enlivening for you.

Everyone has the capacity to think, and ,therefore, make new decisions about how to be in the world. Balancing out Feelings with what we Think and what we Do could be described as 'Therapy' until these three realms of being human work together well enough to 'Be OK' with yourself and others. What is happening internally for you will be similar to what happens between you and others, and vice versa. As one improves, so will the other.

I recommend starting with 6 sessions of therapy (I expect you to identify some change for yourself by then) If not maybe another therapist would work better for you, though I do not engage with new clients if I don't initially think we'll work well together _

I mostly work Medium and Long Term, and some Short Term too. 

By short term I mean up to 20 weekly sessions, Medium term 9-12 months, and Long term (Year + / years) with clients.

If you have been one way all your life it may take longer to 'shift' into 'Being' different, so that problems do not return.

It is OK to take breaks between 'blocks' of therapy and return to work on other stuff or revisit at a deeper level. It can take time to digest therapeutic work and fully internalise the 'new you'

Once I make a commitment to work with a client after an initial six sessions, I will not 'give up' on you, though naturally you will have to stick to our agreements on appointments and payments, and genuinely seek change for yourself with effort.

My specialist areas are Relationship (Self and Other) Couples Welcome, Abuse Survivors, Anxiety and Depression (often linked to) - 'Trauma' (including PTSD CPTSD) Addiction, 'Self Worth'

£42.50 per 1 hour session - Individual

£70.00 per 1.5 hour session - Couples

Concessions for Trainee Therapists - limited spaces please ask 

I hold three concession places (Illness / Low Income / Cannot Work) in my practice as an ethical practitioner. 

Therapy And 'Magic Wand' Wishes

You may be coming to therapy after something specific has happened, especially a specific Traumatic event, or Bereavement, or Beytrayal (which may or may not in themselves be Trauma / Traumatic )

If you are coming because of ingrained repeated patterns that keep happening the below may be helpful :

If you want 'things to be different' the main change that will be required, Will Be You - and you Can Do It !

I am happy to encourage clients to do some reading, watch u tube videos if helpful, start taking exercise or visit a physical therapist or GP if need be as well as attend therapy.

I invite you to Invest in  Yourself, Be Important and Valuable, practice Self Care.

I welcome all clients equally and respectfully - and treat everyone with great compassion. I favour an approach of gentle clear honesty. I will attune to you and offer nurture and support, and will also challenge as required to work effectively. You won't leave therapy shakey, but nor should the work be a complete breeze of an experience, that would be not working effectively, being honest. We will work together to find the right amount of 'stretch' for you,at your pace, gently does it - with compassion.

Couples

Couples come to therapy usually for one of two reasons, to get on better or to break up. It may not be clear which reason (to self or to other) and it is possible each person has a different motivation (whether in full conscious awareness or not)

I invite you to give this consideration, and whether you are seeking couples therapy, or whether clarifying your own feelings and thoughts in individual therapy first will serve you (both) more effectively. There are several ways to start Couples Therapy and I will go through those with you, 'client by client' as everyone, and each couple are of course very different.