New to Relationship Counselling? How it Works

man and woman talking to each other in a session

We listen to you

Our methods have been developed to improve lives over generations. Our experts give you the individual care you need.

If you are considering seeking help for a relationship or mental health issue, then it's natural to want to know more before you take the first step.

At Tavistock Relationships, our staff help everybody who comes to us understand what relationship counselling or individual therapy involves. 

Below, you can read about how the counselling process works.

Book relationship therapy

couple in room sitting with therapist

Relationship counselling or individual therapy starts with a conversation

At Tavistock Relationships we work with you to find the best therapy to suit your needs. In your initial appointment we discuss the issues to find the help that is right for you.

You might be in a relationship, divorced, separated, having issues with parenting or adoption or finding problems in your sexual relationship and unable to resolve the difficulties. This can feel lonely and overwhelming.

Speaking to a therapist gives you the space to understand yourself better in relation to your partner and to explore what keeps you stuck – which often involves recurring patterns from the past.

We’ve been offering relationship therapy for over 70 years, working with people from all communities and backgrounds, providing a safe and confidential environment for you to talk through your problems. Our results and client satisfaction scores speak for themselves.

female therapist taking notes

The initial consultation

A vital first step that can help you understand your problems, and what help you need

Making an appointment for an initial consultation is an important first step to getting help and you can book one online here.

You can choose to attend with your partner or alone. At this session you’ll have the chance to talk through any concerns and ask any questions about how the counselling process works.

People generally find the initial consultation very helpful. During the consultation, the therapist you see will explore your current difficulties and think with you about how to proceed.

As a not-for-profit organisation, we believe that relationship counselling should be accessible to all. As such we offer a sliding fee scale based upon your overall circumstances. You can read more about fees here – we’ll discuss this at your first appointment.

Book your first consultation

Is couples therapy right for me?

When you talk to us there is no obligation to commit unless you are sure - and we help you explore if therapy is the best option.

We do need to ensure that your situation is best suited to having couple therapy, and there might be times when we are not best placed to meet your current needs. 

In such circumstances, we would try to recommend more appropriate options that you might wish to explore, and suggest that you might return for a review in the future.

Success stories

I would recommend marriage counselling to any couple. Our treatment was incredibly helpful for our marriage now, and preparing us for the future together. Thank you.

Tavistock Relationships Client

Our counsellor has been very good at helping us identify underlying issues.

Tavistock Relationships Client

Read more stories
couple at laptop making dates in diary

What happens after the initial consultation

Following your initial appointment we consider carefully the most suitable way forward for you.

If this is in our counselling, psychotherapy or psychosexual services we will look for an appropriate appointment for you for regular weekly sessions.

It could be that there is a wait until a suitable vacancy can be offered, particularly if your availability is limited. Once an appointment is offered it will be for the same time each week with the same therapist.

How the counselling process works

You can choose to attend with your partner or alone. At this session you’ll have the chance to talk through any concerns and ask any questions about how the counselling process works.

People generally find this initial consultation very helpful. If you then want to take things forward, we’ll agree a time that works with sessions delivered on a weekly basis. This video gives an overview of the counselling process.

How to book an appointment

The easiest way to book an appointment is online.

If you have any questions that you’d like to ask before going ahead with a counselling session, why not give us a call on 020 7380 1960, or alternatively get in touch with using the form below.

You can also check out our frequently-asked questions, which cover most of the common things we’re asked.

Book therapy

Get in touch.

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Read how we look after your privacy here

Your Privacy

Tavistock Relationships is committed to protecting and respecting the privacy of prospective employees, contractors, volunteers and interns. We comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulations.

Please follow the headings below to read about the way we manage data submitted on this form.

Website enquiries

If you use our website enquiry service to contact us regarding any of our service, we will ask you to provide us with your name, a method of contacting you and information about your enquiry. We will only use this information to respond to your enquiry

Where your data is stored?

Your information is stored in Salesforce CRM upon submission, where only the relevant respondent can view it.

How long is it stored for?

If you decide not to proceed with registering for our services we will keep your enquiry details for up to one year after the end of your enquiry. After this time your details will be deleted.

When you use our website:-

Cookies

Like many other websites, our website uses cookies. 'Cookies' are small pieces of information sent by an organisation to your computer and stored on your hard drive to allow that website to recognise you when you visit. They collect statistical data about your browsing actions and patterns and do not identify you as an individual. For example, we use cookies to store your country preference. This helps us to improve our website and deliver a better more personalised service.

When you use our website we obtain information about you from cookies which tell us your IP address, when you visited our website and which pages you looked at.

It is possible to switch off cookies by setting your browser preferences. If you would like to turn cookies off you can do so by clicking ‘no’ when prompted by our cookie notice. Turning cookies off may result in a loss of functionality when using our website. As an example, if you turn off cookies, some information like anonymised ‘User ID’s’ for logging into systems will not be retained, so you will need to retype them each time.

Cookies are stored for a maximum of 6 months, though most expire much sooner.

Confidentiality

Tavistock Relationships adheres to a professional code of ethical standards which includes the principle of confidentiality. This means that we would not disclose information about you to a third party without your agreement, except in situations where there was significant concern about harm to you or someone else and this would normally be discussed with you beforehand.

We ensure that access to your personal data is restricted to members of staff who require access as part of delivering our service.

Your rights

The GDPR gives you certain rights in relation to the data we hold about you. You can exercise the rights outlined below by contacting us:

Email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In writing to Privacy, Tavistock Relationships, 56-60 Hallam Street, London, W1W 6JL Telephone 0207 380 1975

Under the GDPR you can:

  • Find out what information we hold about you
  • Access a copy of the information we hold about you
  • Rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data
  • Have the right to object to our processing of your personal information
  • Ask us to delete or restrict how we use your personal information, but this right is determined by applicable law
  • Have your registration information (if registering using our online booking system) sent to another provider
  • Have the right to appropriate decision making (TR does not use automated profiling or decision making)
  • Complain to a regulator if you think we have not complied with data protection laws. You can lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

Privacy policies

We have specific data protection policies for each of our services and if you go on to become a client, then you can access the policy of the service you enquired about here:

Clinical Service
https://tavistockrelationships.org/contact-us/privacy-policies/clinical-services-privacy-policies

Training and Events
https://tavistockrelationships.org/contact-us/privacy-policies/training-events-privacy-policy

Recruitment and selection
https://tavistockrelationships.org/contact-us/privacy-policies/recruitment-selection-privacy-policy

Building Relationships for Stronger Families
https://tavistockrelationships.org/contact-us/privacy-policies/brsf-privacy-notice

Between Us App
https://tavistockrelationships.org/contact-us/privacy-policies/between-us-privacy-policy