Individual psychotherapy
Individual psychotherapy consists of a meeting between the therapist and client in a specific, always identical place, at a pre-arranged time, lasting for 50 to 60 minutes. During the session, the therapist and client discuss issues significant to the client.
A special relationship develops between the therapist and client which makes psychotherapy extraordinary. It is a relationship in which both parties are aware of the reasons for meeting and the rules and objectives of the interaction. The relationship must be voluntary, prompted by the client and accepted by the therapist.
During individual therapy, the therapist does not provide advice or ready-made solutions to the client, but rather helps the client, with his/her presence and knowledge, to come up with the best possible option(s). Thus, the client, with the support of the therapist, takes full responsibility for his/her own actions.
Individual therapy represents a “safe haven” for the client to explore his/her own capacities and consider them objectively. The client is provided support in exploring new, creative problem-solving approaches, becoming aware of his/her own feelings and behaviours, finding new sources of internal and external support and gaining control over his/her own life.
Individual psychotherapy represents a special process, and thus requires time and effort. The length of the treatment depends on the therapeutic objective, which is jointly defined by the therapist and the client, and is revised after some time.
During the first session, a working agreement is prepared: defining the area/issues which the client wants to cover, the frequency of meetings (one or more times a week), payment conditions, and the cancellation policy.
Completion of therapy is reached following a joint decision of the therapist and client, based on the client’s assessment of the benefits gained during therapy and the therapist’s assessment of progress in relation to the initial state and agreed therapy objective.
The session content between the therapist and client represents a professional secret and the confidentiality principle is respected.
