Long-term counselling means different things to different people. For some counselling approaches, after six months, the counsellor and their clients are probably just beginning to settle in and get started. I talk about longer-term work for clients I see for over ten sessions.

Working with men and being trained in short-term counselling means I get to work immediately. It is a more direct and overtly challenging approach, BUT sometimes, we do need to slow things down, treading carefully and safely.

Some issues, often those diagnosed by your GP, require a slower, more cautious approach. For these issues, longer-term counselling is a more appropriate way ahead.

In my approach, I will always start with a 6 to 10-session short-term approach driven by the issues presented by the client. It might be that a psychotherapeutic approach may be more relevant than solution-focused, for example, but a short series of sessions is mandatory. You never know; you may only need six sessions!