FAQ
What is therapy?
The process of taking professional assistance to resolve a personal or psychological problem is called therapy. This could be difficulty in regulating emotions, any kind of distress, relationship troubles, anxiety and depression etc.
What happens in a therapy session?
Therapy basically involves talking out one’s thoughts and feelings, within a safe and non-judgemental setting. Therapy is a process. It is not a quick fix as it entails finding the root cause of the problem and addressing it at the root cause level.
What can I expect from my therapist?
You can expect your therapist to be warm, accepting, non-judgemental and empathetic. Your therapist is trained with a set of skills to help you become more self-aware and equip you with better coping and communication skills to allow you to find a solution to the problem.
What kind of therapy is offered? Will my therapist prescribe medicines?
Your therapist is trained in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is a process to identify the original cause of any psychological, emotional or behavioural issues causing distress to the client. And by working together with the client, help to arrive at an understanding of the how the past has shaped the personality / belief system, world view etc. and then to identify a goal / desired change and work towards achieving that.
Your therapist is not a medical doctor and so cannot prescribe any medicines. If she believes there might be an underlying condition to be addressed, she might refer to a psychiatrist for an assessment.
​
​
Is therapy completely confidential?
Therapy is a confidential process, yes. However if the therapist believes there’s credible risk of self-harm, risk of harm to another or if there is any kind of abuse going on, confidentiality may need to be broken. An emergency contact person will be identified for this purpose, right at the beginning of the therapy process. The therapist will inform the client before breaking confidentiality and contacting the emergency contact person. These are the terms of confidentiality. If conditions to break confidentiality do not arise, then everything spoken with the counsellor will remain confidential.
What are the ethics of therapist?
Ethical practices require the therapist to be trained and certified, to be in personal therapy themselves, to be under supervision and maintain standard ethical practises related to work set up, comfortable environment and privacy.
What does it mean if my therapist is in supervision
Supervision is an ethical requirement for a mental health practitioner. Your identity or identity revealing details will not be share with the supervisor. To understand supervision and how it works, do visit https://www.greatlakespsychologygroup.com/blog/why-does-my-therapist-have-a-supervisor/
Can I befriend my therapist online or offline?
No, the therapist-client relationship is a therapeutic one. Therefore it can exist only in the therapy space. In fact if the therapist and client bump into each other in any public space the therapist will not acknowledge or greet the client. In case the client greets the therapist, then the latter will respond.
If I am already in individual therapy can I refer my partner to the same therapist for individual therapy as well?
No, as that is potentially conflict of interest it is unethical for the therapist to be seeing a couple for separate individual therapy
Can I cancel my appointment on the same day?
Please bear in mind that your therapist works with people in distress. This includes people with serious issues like depression / anxiety / abusive relationships / suicidal thoughts and other emergencies. A same day cancellation denies another client in need of support from using the slot if there’s not enough time to manage their schedules. If you fall sick the previous day, please keep your therapist informed immediately so another client waiting against cancellation can be kept informed. If you are better by the date of the appointment you can keep your appointment. If you remain ill, the client waiting against cancellation will be given the slot as they too were intimated about the possibility of cancellation. Cancellation policy is 24 hours in advance. Less than 24 hours will be fully chargeable.
Will there be any kind of record kept?
Yes, the therapist will maintain case notes. These are confidential and will not be shared or revealed. These are destroyed two year after closing therapy.
How can I find out about my therapist’s training or competence?
A client has the right to ask. Just like you would want to get treated by a qualified, competent and experienced medical doctor, so too you have the right with regard to mental health professional. Ask