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We are extremely fortunate in our practice to have the services of Mrs. Gill Ardern a highly trained counsellor and psychological therapist.
Gill can help with a wide range of psychological problems including help with managing depression, anxiety, "Life Crises" Poor self esteem, phobias, victims of personal or sexual abuse, survivors of child sexual abuse, anger management, eating disorders and many other problems. She also runs group therapy sessions for suitable people and occasional groups for assertiveness training.
A referral for counselling can only be made by one of the Doctors who needs to decide if a person has a problem that can be dealt with by the in house service or a more severe mental health problem requiring referral on to the hospital or community based psychiatric team.
Gill sees each client for an initial assessment session when she will gain an outline of the problem and what the person hopes to achieve from counselling. If she feels she can help then the client will be offered a series of usually weekly sessions usually for six to eight weeks. If Gill does not feel that she can help then she will tell the client this at the assessment session and the matter is taken no further.
CONFIDENTIALITY
All discussions with Gill are totally confidential, no details are entered in the medical record other than that the session took place. Nothing that is discussed in a counselling session will ever be divulged to a third person including the Doctors. The only exception is if Gill feels that the client needs further medical input or is a significant suicide risk then this will be passed on to the referring Doctor. However the details of the discussions are never passed on. All people receiving counselling even if they know Gill outside of the surgery can be assured of total confidentiality.