Four approaches, described by what they ask of you.
Turn any card over for the version that says when it does not suit people.
Approach 01
Talking in detail about the present
Most weeks, most of the hour. You describe recent events closely and I keep asking what came next. It asks you to remember specifics rather than to summarise, which is tiring for the first month and easier after.
Over
When it does not suit
If talking about a recent event reliably leaves you unable to work the next day, we slow down and build something steadier first. Detail is a tool, not a virtue.
Approach 02
Tracking what the body does
Short stretches, a few minutes at a time. I ask where in your body something registered and we wait to see whether it shifts. It asks for a kind of attention most people have not practised.
Over
When it does not suit
Some people find turning attention inward makes things sharper rather than calmer. If that is you, say so early and we stay with words and events instead. Nothing is lost.
Approach 03
Trying something small between sessions
Occasionally, and only when we choose it together. One specific act, sized so it fits an ordinary week. It asks you to report back honestly, including when you did not do it.
Over
When it does not suit
If your week already runs on obligations you are failing to meet, another task is the last thing you need. We drop this entirely for as long as that is true.
Approach 04
Reading the cards back
Every eight sessions. We take out what I have written and read the thread aloud. It asks you to look at your own repetitions, which is the least comfortable and most useful hour of the eight.
Over
When it does not suit
If a review would land as a report card, we do it in conversation instead of on paper. The point is the check, not the ceremony.
Formal training and the names your insurer may want are here: [set your qualifications], [set your accrediting body], [set your registration number].
03 Fee sheet
The fee sheet, whole.
Fees Sample figures
| What | How long | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| First call | 15 minutes | No charge |
| Weekly session, standard | 50 minutes | [set your full fee] |
| Weekly session, lower band | 50 minutes | [set your lowest fee] |
| Online session | 50 minutes | Same as in the room |
| Double session, agreed in advance | 100 minutes | [set your double fee] |
| Letter or report | n/a | [set your rate, or state that you do not write them] |
Fees are reviewed once a year, in [set your review month], and any change is told to you two months before it starts. Nobody's fee changes mid-year.
04 The scale
The sliding scale, in plain terms.
Front
- Say the word scale in your first message, or in the first call. That is the entire application.
- No pay slips, no means test, no explanation asked for or wanted.
- The lower band is [set your lowest fee]. Anything between that and the standard fee can be agreed.
- I hold [set a number] lower-band places. When they are full, this card says so.
- Your fee is fixed for a year once agreed, and you can ask to change it at any review.
Over
Why it works this way
Means testing costs more dignity than it saves money, and asking someone to prove hardship in their first message is a good way to make sure they never send it.
If everyone asked for the lowest band the practice would not survive, so I trust people to read that sentence and answer it honestly. That has held so far. [set your own account of how this has gone.]
05 Cancellations
If you cannot come.
Tell me as early as you can and we look for another slot that week. The hour is held for you, which is why late cancellation costs [set your policy], and why illness is treated as illness rather than as a test of your commitment.
Holidays: I close for [set your closure dates] and tell you at least a month before. You are not charged for those weeks.
If you stop coming without saying so, I write once, wait two weeks, and then release the slot. There is no third message, and there is no hard feeling if you come back.