thinktamara.com
thinktamara.com
How I Can Help
I offer the supportive and confidential space in which we can work together to think about the issues that may be adversely impacting on your life and why it is you are feeling as you do. With this increased understanding of yourself, comes the opportunity to make changes that can really help you to move your life on.
What To Expect
Your reason for seeking out therapy is unique to you, but in the end, what brings anyone to therapy is a sense that life feels difficult in some way.
Some people come with a clear idea about what it is that is causing them difficulty. It may be that they are dealing with a life event such as the end of a relationship or the loss of a job, or perhaps they know that they are stuck in patterns of behaviour they feel powerless to change. For many others, the ‘reason’ for considering therapy is not so clear. They may be struggling with complex feelings that they find hard to articulate, or they just know that on some level they feel anxious or unhappy with how life is right now.
Whatever the motivation, I offer the opportunity to explore those difficulties in the context of a kind and collaborative relationship.
It is important to understand that a therapist’s job is not to cure you of anything or to solve your problems for you. That may sound unhelpful, but when you think that life, inescapably, involves having to navigate our way through day to day problems, as well as bigger issues, it is a poor therapist who offers you solutions. That route only leads to dependence on the therapist.
A good therapist, instead, helps you to equip yourself better to navigate those current and future hurdles. Working at a pace that you dictate, the therapy room offers the space in which to reflect on why you think, feel and respond in life as you do. In this way, as your understanding of yourself grows, so does the opportunity to make different choices for your life, so as to better get your needs met. Good therapy helps you to develop your autonomy, and with it your resilience. With the help of the right professional, therapy can be an incredibly empowering and reparative process.
To paraphrase Maya Angelou, “ When you know better, you do better”.
About Me
I am a qualified Psychotherapist and registered member of the BACP, which means that I adhere to the requisite ethical standards of this governing body.
My training is from the Humanistic school. It's an optimistic and empowering philosophy that says that we are not stuck with the lives we have. Whatever challenges we currently face, whatever sadness, anger or frustration we are carrying around with us, we have it within us to change our experience. This transformative philosophy is what I draw on in my work, to empower clients to live more of the life they want to be living.
Before I entered the world of therapy, I had a couple of other lives, starting my working life as a lawyer, before moving onto a career in documentary television. The curiosity about the human condition that underpinned my life in TV, is the same curiosity that led me to retrain in psychotherapy.
I think that my own professional background puts me in a unique position to understand not only how hard it can be to keep our heads above water at work when we are struggling with issues outside of it, but also, how demanding work environments and the often dysfunctional dynamics that go with them, can bring tremendous pressure to bear on us.
It may help you to know, in your search for a therapist, that in the end, whatever the skill set or experience of the therapist, all the evidence shows that the key to change lies in your desire for change and also in the quality of the therapeutic relationship. In other words, if you don’t feel comfortable with your therapist, if you have no rapport with them, if you don’t feel like they “get you”, then therapy is very unlikely to be effective, so it’s vitally important that you find the right person for you (even if it's not me).
This is not an exhaustive list, but these are some of the areas I work with:
Anxiety
Relationship issues
Depression
Work Stress & Burn Out
Family conflict
Sexuality
Identity Issues
Childhood trauma
Personal growth
Self esteem
Bereavement
FAQ
If you cannot find the answer you are looking for here, please contact me and I will do my best to respond within 24 hours.
Where are you based?
I only work with clients online via Zoom. I offer various appointments across the week, daytime and evenings.
How much do sessions cost?
My rate is £120 per session.
How long do sessions last?
Sessions last fifty minutes. They are usually fixed for the same day and time each week but I am able to accommodate flexibility based on client needs. The timing of sessions is strict, so that if you are late to your session, I’m afraid that it will still need to end on time so as not to impact on the rest of my schedule. If you are running late for any reason, please try to text, call or email me to let me know.
How long do we work together for?
This is a difficult question to answer here. It very much depends on what you are hoping to get from therapy. In our first meeting we will discuss what your overall aims might be, and then agree an initial period for working together. It may be that as we progress, issues emerge that you wish to explore and we can then reassess the direction and duration of our work together.
Cancellation policy
Once we have agreed to work together, I will reserve your weekly slot for you.
If you need to cancel one of our sessions please give me as much notice as you can. Similarly, if I need to cancel a session for some reason I will endeavour to give you as much notice as possible. Where possible I will try to offer you an alternative time.
If you cancel on the day of a session I will charge the full fee.
Holidays
I will endeavour to give you no less than two weeks notice of any holidays I intend to take, and I would ask the same of you.
You do not pay for sessions missed due to holidays. If you are going to be taking a break of longer than three weeks, we would have to discuss whether I was able to keep your slot open for you.
Payment
I require advance payment by bank transfer 48 hours in advance to secure the first session.
After that, payment can be made online, ideally in advance of the session.
What can I expect from my first session?
It is perfectly normal to be a little apprehensive, but the first session is really for us both to find out more about each other and to decide if the therapy I offer would be suitable for you and your needs. If you feel that it might be, we can agree on an initial period of work together and the remit and focus of that.
PRIVACY STATEMENT
This Privacy Statement explains how I, Tamara Abood, of thinktamara.com, use and protect any information that you may give me if and when we work together.
I am committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected, and that any information you provide will only be used and stored in accordance with my Privacy Policy.
I may change this Policy from time to time, and I suggest that you regularly check this page to ensure that you continue to be comfortable with the measures that I am taking to protect your privacy.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR), the lawful basis that I use for storing and processing your personal data is Contract. This is because I am providing you with a service and I require some information to be able to provide you with that service.
How is your data stored?
All of my records are kept on paper in a locked filing cabinet. I will keep your phone number and email stored on my phone, which is only accessed by me and is password-protected.
How long is your data stored for and how is it disposed of?
Your session notes and contact sheet will be kept for five years from the date of our last session. After this date, this paperwork will be shredded.
Any communication between us by email or text will be deleted as soon as the messages are no longer relevant.
Confidentiality
To ensure open exploration of the concerns that have brought you to therapy, I maintain confidentiality in accordance with the BACP Ethical Framework (2018) - see www.bacp.co.uk.
There are, however, exceptions to the duty of confidentiality which you should be aware of:
In which situations can your data be shared?
There are occasions when I may share your information with other professionals. These are:
- Your first name will be shared with my clinical supervisor.
- If I receive a subpoena from a court of law compelling me to disclose information
- If you disclose information that raises safeguarding concerns including serious risk of harm to yourself or others, or abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult then I have a duty of care to disclose that information to the appropriate authorities.
- If you disclose information to indicate that you are a substantial risk of suicide I will release that information to relevant support services.
- If you disclose anything to do with a proposed act of terrorism, or other illegal act such as drug-trafficking or money laundering I am legally required to inform the police, and it would be a criminal offence for me to tell you that I have done so.
- In the event of my death or incapacitation, your records will be released to one of my colleagues who will then make contact with you.
If I do share information about you, I will always aim to discuss it with you first, unless the situation requires an immediate response. If I am required to release information before discussing it with you, I will inform you at the earliest opportunity, except in the case of information relating to criminal activities.
I will never share your data for any reason other than the reasons stated above.
Access to information
Under the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 you can request access to the personal information that I hold about you. I will provide this except in the limited circumstances in which I am permitted not to. I will respond to any such request made by you within one month of the request being made.
You may request amendments to the personal information I hold about you that is inaccurate or out-of-date. If you request that I delete your personal information, I will take all reasonable steps to do so unless I need to keep it for legal, auditing or internal business purposes.
Contact
Complaints, questions, comments and access requests are to be addressed to:
Tamara Abood (Data Controller)
External Links
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