I am a psychotherapist in Oxhill, South Warwickshire, and I work with grief and bereavement. Sessions are two hours, face to face. If you are further afield, one hour by phone or video. That is the short answer.
Where I am
A quiet room in Oxhill, in South Warwickshire, with parking outside. Within easy reach of Oxhill, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Banbury, Shipston-on-Stour, Kineton, Chipping Norton and the villages between them. It is about twenty minutes from Stratford-upon-Avon and half an hour from Banbury or Leamington.
What a first session is like
Two hours. No forms, no assessment, no clipboard. You talk, I listen, and somewhere in there I will ask the question nobody has asked you yet. Most people arrive able to describe the feeling but not the cause — that is the right place to start, and it is what the time is for.
Two hours sounds long. It is deliberate: an hour is usually just long enough to open something and not long enough to do anything with it.
Who comes
- People who have lost someone — recently, or a long time ago and it has resurfaced.
- People grieving something that was not a death: a marriage, a career, a diagnosis, a body that changed.
- People in anticipatory grief — their own diagnosis, or sitting beside someone dying.
- People who were told they should be over it by now, and are not.
Do I need counselling, or am I just sad?
Grief is not an illness and most people do not need therapy for it. What brings people here is usually one of three things: it has stopped moving, it has come back years later and floored them, or there is nobody in their life they can say it out loud to. Any of those is reason enough. You do not have to be in crisis to be worth an hour of someone’s attention.
Further afield
One hour by phone or video, wherever you are. It works better than people expect — for some, the distance makes it easier to say the thing.
Getting in touch
Tell me what is going on, in a line or two. You do not need to explain everything. I read every message myself and reply within a day. If a call is easier, say which days suit and I will ring you.
The 12-Stage Cycle of Grief → Therapy, coaching and courses →
If you are thinking about ending your life, call Samaritans free, any time, on 116 123.