Commonly asked questions about therapy

Is therapy just for people with mental health problems or diagnoses?

We all have mental health, just like we all have physical health. As well as helping to overcome diagnosable mental health problems, therapy is also about developing your resilience to the stresses of life. It allows you to time to understand yourself better, learn new skills and strategies for living the life you want and can improve your psychological and emotional wellbeing.

Will therapy work for me?

Research has shown that psychological therapies are an effective treatment for a broad range of difficulties. Therapy is just like learning any type of new skill, it takes time, motivation and practice. You need to be willing and open to talk about your thoughts, feelings, experiences, needs, hopes and fears. Therapy is at its most effective when people want things to change and feel motivated to try. At Cala, we offer support from highly trained Clinical Psychologists who have many years of expertise in a wide range of therapeutic modalities. This allows the flexibility to find a therapeutic approach that works for you.

Which mental health professional should I choose?

This is important. This is because the relationship you have with your therapist (psychologists call this the 'therapeutic relationship') is the foundation upon which all other aspects of therapy and its effectiveness rely. In other words, if there isn’t a good working relationship between the therapist and client then the therapy is less likely to be successful, regardless of the type of therapy being provided or how skilled, qualified or experienced the practitioner is.

At Cala we offer a free 15-minute phone consultation so you can get a feel of what working with us will be like. Everybody is different and we want to make sure we’re the right fit for you so you can get the most out of therapy.

How many therapy sessions will I need?

This really does depend on individual needs. Some people get what they need after just a few sessions, some find they require many more than this. Sometimes it is a one-off session that is needed to help with a specific issue. At Cala, we aim to empower you through therapy, not create a dependency on it. It is important to review therapy at regular intervals and agree together the frequency and duration of your therapy.

Will everything we discuss remain confidential?

It is understandable that sharing personal, private information can often be accompanied with nervousness about who will have access to this information. Our Clinical Psychologists are chartered by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and are registered with the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC). They are bound by a professional Code of Ethics that means everything you discuss will be kept completely confidential unless you give your explicit consent for certain information to be shared with particular individuals, like your GP or your child's school.

There are rare circumstances which permit Clinical Psychologists to break this confidentiality agreement, for example in instances where they feel the client or others are at significant risk of harm. Whenever possible, they would let you know if this was the case.

How will I know I am ready to start therapy?

It can be hard to know if it is the 'right' time to begin therapy especially if you are new to this type of support. Ask yourself these questions if you are considering therapy.

Are the things that are hard in my life at the moment getting in the way of the life I want to live?
Are my usual ways of coping with difficulties no longer working for me?
Am I ready to explore my feelings and why I act and react in certain ways?
Do I feel able to open up about things that are personal and may be hard to talk about?
Am I ready and wiling to learn about and try new ways to cope with what I find difficult in order to improve my emotional wellbeing and mental health?

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