Psychotherapy FAQs

有些人將心理治療稱為“對話治療”，因為它通常基於個人與治療師的對話。然而，心理治療不僅僅是談論你的問題。訓練有素的心理治療師將透過為你提供更有效應對的工具來幫助你解決特定或一般問題。在心理治療中，治療師應用經過科學驗證的程序來幫助人們養成更健康、更有效的習慣。有許多不同的專業人士從事心理治療，例如：臨床心理學家、精神科醫生、輔導員、婚姻與家庭治療師、社會工作者。

心理治療是治療師和客戶之間的專業關係。心理治療師接受過培訓，能夠理解你所說的內容以及你的說話方式。他們密切注意肢體語言、語氣和內容，以充分理解你想表達的內容。

雖然家人或朋友可以幫助你感覺更好，甚至提供改變的良好建議，但這不是心理治療。你可以告訴治療師一些事情，而不必擔心你的訊息被告知其他人或以任何方式影響你的工作、家庭或人際關係。

心理學家和精神科醫生經常被混淆為相類似的。雖然兩者都研究大腦、情緒、感覺和思想，但這兩個研究領域之間有明顯的差異。

精神科醫生在醫學院開始他們的職業生涯，然後通常在醫院的精神科接受四年的住院醫師培訓。

心理學家經過五到七年的學術研究生學習和實踐臨床培訓，最終獲得博士學位。

身為醫生，精神科醫生可以開藥，而心理學家則不能。

心理治療提供了一個支持性的環境，讓你能夠與客觀、中立及不帶偏見的人真誠地交談。你和你的治療師將共同努力識別並改變那些阻礙你保持最佳狀態的思想及行為模式。

當你完成治療時，不僅會解決讓你接受治療的問題，而且你還會學到新的技能，讓你就可以更好地應對未來出現的任何挑戰。

我們的心理學家和輔導員與你合作的方式部分取決於你從心理治療中尋求什麼、你如何理解自己的困難、可用的支援以及你的時間限制。我們認為治療師和客戶之間應該是一種協作關係，我們雙方共同努力就治療的目標和重點達成一致。

Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate clients without a prior booking. Scheduling appointments allows our therapists to prepare for their sessions which contributes to enhanced effectiveness of therapy.

Booking an appointment with us is just a few steps away.

1. Please contact us by using the contact form, or calling or emailing us directly with your chosen therapist.
2. Unsure which therapist to see? Our helpful administrative team is always on hand to answer any questions and provide you with recommendations based on your specific needs.   
3. Once your therapist has been confirmed, our team will assist you in scheduling an initial assessment session or a pre-screen call with your chosen therapist. The pre-screen call is not an assessment, but rather a short call for you to see if the therapist is the right fit for you before committing to a first session.  

The first session is an opportunity for you and your therapist to get to know each other and decide how to proceed. This session will give you the opportunity to build rapport with your therapist, describe your difficulties in more detail, receive feedback, ask questions and agree on a plan to achieve your goals.

The number of sessions required can vary significantly from person to person. Many factors can affect how many sessions a person might need. These include, the nature of the presenting problem, the severity of the problem, the goals of treatment, the consistency and motivation of the client and the therapeutic approach used.

Sometimes, individuals may benefit from short-term therapy consisting of a few sessions focused on addressing a specific issue or developing coping strategies. For others, a longer-term therapeutic process involving regular sessions over an extended period may be necessary to achieve sustainable change and personal growth.

We encourage our clients to take an active role in determining how many sessions are needed and frequently discuss progress, treatment goals, and any concerns you may have. Together, you and your therapist can determine the appropriate duration and frequency of therapy sessions based on your unique circumstances.

Central Minds holds the privacy and confidentiality of our work as a foundational value. We view confidentiality as a precondition to a trusting therapeutic relationship and a critical component of effective psychological treatment.
All our staff members strive to ensure the confidentiality of all communications with clients, both in-person and electronically.

Your private information will be shared only with your written permission to do so. Our therapists follow legal and ethical standards set by their regulating bodies. However, if at any time your therapist feels that there are safety issues concerning you or others, or others’ property; then this confidentiality may be broken.

Your therapist cannot prescribe medication, only a medical doctor or psychiatrist can do this. Whilst we do not prescribe medication, there may be times where we feel it would be beneficial or necessary for you to consult with a psychiatrist regarding medication. Depending on the nature of your presenting problem, it is sometimes most effective to combine psychological intervention with medication.

We work closely with a number of established psychiatrists in the community and so if needed, we are able to personally recommend psychiatrists with whom we have an established professional relationship with.

In the event that you need to cancel your appointment, please be sure to give us a minimum of 24-hour notice. Appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, will be charged at your regular session rate.

We understand that sometimes things happen that are out of your control, people get sick and/or emergencies occur.  We ask that if you are ill, you provide us with a doctor’s note so that we can waive your session fee.

There are several reasons that we have a cancellation policy in place:

1. Therapy tends to be most helpful to people who view their appointments as an important and valuable component of their lives. The cancellation policy helps to avoid people booking a session as a means of reserving themselves a time for therapy rather than making a commitment to actually attend their therapy session. This commitment to therapy helps you to make therapy a priority in your life and perhaps for the first time value yourself by making you a priority.
2. Each therapist at Central Minds has a specific number of hours available to see clients. By taking you on as a client, your therapist is agreeing to be available to you with commitment and consistency and we ask that you do the same for your own therapy.
3. Many of our therapists are currently fully booked. The 24 hour cancellation period allows us to offer your time slot to someone else who may be waiting for an appointment.

When you make an appointment to see other healthcare professionals, it is usually a one-off appointment because you feel unwell or that something is not right with your physical health. Psychotherapy does not work in the same way – most of our clients have a fixed time that they are seen each week.

In order to achieve treatment goals in the most effective way, our experience has proven that consistency of sessions is recommended. Therefore, once we take on a new client, we need to ensure there is space for them to be seen weekly (or whatever frequency the client and therapist decide upon).

Unfortunately, this means that we are not able to slot in clients for one-off appointments, as we wouldn’t be able to guarantee that we had space to continue to see them in the future. 

If the therapist you wish to see has a waitlist but you are seeking therapy sooner, we would be happy to provide you with appropriate referrals who will be able to see you immediately.

Yes, all our therapists accept BUPA insurance. In order to successfully claim sessions from your insurance carrier, you will need to obtain a Guarantee of Payment (GOP) from BUPA before your first session. Please send us this GOP, or bring it to your first session. For further assistance and information, get in touch with our team.