Frequently asked questions.
Here you'll find answers to common questions about therapy with me. Whether you're certain about being neurodivergent or just exploring that possibility, whether you've tried therapy before or this is your first time reaching out, you'll find information here about my approach and how we might work together.
As a neurodivergent therapist working exclusively with neurodivergent adults, I understand both professionally and personally the challenges and experiences you might be navigating. These FAQs cover everything from practical session details to deeper questions about identity, trauma, and life challenges. Browse through them to get a sense of how I work and what you can expect. You can also learn more about me and my work on the home page, and in my blog articles and Youtube videos
About My Practice:
Summary:
I work online with individual adults aged 18 and over.
I specialise in working with neurodivergent adults, including autistic, ADHD and AuDHD people, people who were identified or diagnosed later in life, and people who are exploring whether they may be neurodivergent.
You do not need a formal diagnosis to enquire about working with me.
I do not offer couples, relationship, family, child or adolescent therapy.
Online sessions using video conferencing within a secure ‘therapy practice’ platform (Writeupp)
Available WEEKDAYS 8:45 am - 9:15 pm
60-minute sessions at £145 each session
Flexible session frequency
Self-booking options with calendar link
Low cost ‘Discovery Call’ introductory video meeting available
48-hour cancellation policy and sessions rescheduling
Do I need a formal diagnosis to work with you?
What if I'm not sure if I'm neurodivergent?
Can you diagnose autism or ADHD?
Do you only work with concerns related to neurodiversity?
No. I work with both self-identified and ‘formally’ diagnosed neurodivergent adults. Self-identification is valid, and we can explore your experiences and needs regardless of diagnostic status or origin of your knowledge. If you're questioning whether you might be neurodivergent, that's also a valid starting point for our work together.
That's completely fine. Many people come to therapy during their journey of self-discovery. If you're questioning or exploring your neurodivergent identity, we can work together to understand your experiences and how they align with neurodivergent perspectives. There's no pressure to have everything figured out before we begin.
No. I do not provide autism, ADHD or other diagnostic assessments.
I may help you explore your experiences, identity, needs and understanding of yourself, but this is not the same as conducting a formal diagnostic assessment.
If you are unsure about whether a formal assessment is right for you, we can talk through ways of how you may consider whether to or not. Where appropriate, you may wish to consult a suitably qualified diagnostic professional separately if you decide to pursue an assessment.
No. Neurodivergent people seek therapy, counselling and coaching for the same wide range of reasons as other people.
You may wish to explore relationships, identity, anxiety, grief, trauma, work, confidence, life transitions, family experiences, emotional distress, creativity, ambition, burnout, disability, discrimination or questions about how you want to live or decisions you want to make.
Neurodivergence may be central to the work, relevant to only part of it, or simply one aspect of who you are.
Are you neuro-affirming?
Do you work with people who are not neurodivergent?
Are you able to work with every person who enquires?
Yes. I do not approach neurodivergence as a defect that must be corrected.
My work is NOT intended to train autistic or ADHD people to appear more neuronormative at the expense of their wellbeing, identity or needs.
I work collaboratively to understand how you experience yourself and the world, what matters to you, what supports or challenges you, and how you may pursue meaningful change without treating yourself as a problem to be overcome.
This does not mean assuming that neurodivergent people should have smaller lives, lower aspirations or fewer responsibilities. It means finding approaches to living, working, relating and striving that include you as a whole person, in ways that are aligned to how you are, rather than how anybody (including yourself) believes you should be. It is not whether we can have, be , or do, but about exploring and discovery ‘how’ we can.
My practice has a particular focus on neurodivergent adults.
You may still enquire if you are not neurodivergent but believe that my experience, approach or way of working may be relevant to you.
I will consider whether the service appears suitable before offering a booking link.
No. I consider each enquiry individually.
I may be unable to offer a service where your needs are outside my competence, where online work would not be suitable, where your location creates legal or insurance difficulties, where a conflict of interest exists, where my capacity or availability is too low, or where another form of service would be more appropriate.
Sending an enquiry does not create a therapeutic or coaching relationship and does not guarantee that I will offer a discovery call or ongoing sessions.
What is the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?
What is coaching?
How is coaching different from therapy?
Do therapy or coaching guarantee a particular result?
Can I change from coaching to therapy or from therapy to coaching?
I use the terms counselling and psychotherapy to describe overlapping forms of therapeutic work.
Some people associate counselling with more immediate or focused concerns and psychotherapy with longer-term or more exploratory work. In practice, the distinction is not always clear-cut.
Our work may involve current difficulties, emotional experiences, identity, relationships, recurring patterns, earlier experiences, disability, neurodivergence and wider social contexts.
You do not need to decide whether you require counselling or psychotherapy before contacting me. We can discuss what you are seeking and what kind of work may be appropriate.
Coaching is a collaborative, non-diagnostic service concerned with aspirations, decisions, projects, obligations, relationships, working processes and finding sustainable ways to pursue what matters to you.
Coaching may be useful where you know broadly what you want but need help identifying how to move towards it in ways that fit your attention, energy, values, interests, circumstances and needs.
My coaching is not about correcting your neurotype or teaching you to perform according to neuronormative standards at your own expense.
Therapy may involve emotional distress, earlier experiences, relationships, identity, recurring patterns, trauma and the meanings that experiences hold for you.
Coaching is usually more directly focused on aims, decisions, projects, obligations and practical processes.
There can be some overlap. Emotional experience and personal history may be relevant to coaching, and therapy may include practical change.
If it appears that the work is moving substantially from coaching towards therapy, or from therapy towards coaching, we will discuss this rather than changing the nature of the service without agreement.
No. I will provide the agreed service with reasonable professional care and skill, but I cannot guarantee a particular outcome, diagnosis, recovery, achievement or change within a specific period.
Therapy and coaching are collaborative processes. Their usefulness can be affected by many factors, including the person’s circumstances, goals, readiness, support, health, environment and the suitability of the working relationship.
Possibly. If either of us believes that the focus or nature of the work has changed, we can discuss whether a different service agreement would be more appropriate.
The change would be discussed explicitly rather than happening silently.
Do you prescribe medication or give medical advice?
Do you provide crisis or emergency support?
No. I am a psychotherapist, counsellor and coach. I do not prescribe medication and do not provide medical or psychiatric treatment.
Questions about medication should be discussed with an appropriately qualified medical professional.
No. My practice is not an emergency or crisis service (see ‘Emergency and Crisis Information’)
Email, contact forms, WriteUpp messages and booking facilities are not continuously monitored and should not be used to request urgent support.
If you or another person is in immediate danger, call 999 or attend the nearest Accident and Emergency department.
For urgent health guidance in the United Kingdom, you may contact NHS 111, your GP or your local NHS urgent mental-health service.
Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 for emotional support.
If you are outside the United Kingdom, use the emergency or crisis services available in your location.
How do I enquire about becoming a client?
What happens after I enquire?
How quickly will you reply?
Are you qualified to work as a therapist and coach?
ENQUIRING AND GETTING STARTED
Please read the Fees and Booking information, these FAQs and the Terms of Service before contacting me.
Further, you can check my EID policy and my Accessibility and Reasonable Adjustments Statement
You can then use the contact form or email me briefly to explain:
Whether you are interested in psychotherapy, counselling, coaching or a discovery call.
That you are aged 18 or over.
The country from which you expect to attend sessions.
A brief outline of what you are seeking.
You do not need to provide detailed or highly sensitive personal information in your first message.
I will consider the information you have provided and whether my service appears potentially suitable.
I may:
Ask a brief follow-up question.
Send you a booking link for a £25 discovery call.
Send you a booking link for a full session.
Explain that I am not available.
Explain that my service does not appear suitable.
Suggest that another kind of service may be more appropriate.
An enquiry does not create a therapist-client or coach-client relationship.
Email is not monitored continuously.
Because I am a sole practitioner and my administrative capacity varies, I cannot guarantee a reply within four working days.
If you have not heard from me within seven working days, you are welcome to send a brief follow-up message, as emails can occasionally be delayed, filtered or overlooked.
Formal complaints, data-protection requests and appointment-cancellation notices are handled under their applicable procedures and are not governed solely by this general response-time statement.
Yes. I am a UKCP registered psychotherapist, with academic and vocational qualifications in Psychotherapy, Counselling, Coaching, Autism, ADHD, different models of therapy, and in training other therapists. You can see my formal qualifications on my home page
What is a discovery call?
How much does a discovery call cost?
Does booking a discovery call guarantee that you will offer me ongoing sessions?
Can I book a full session without a discovery call?
What happens if I repeatedly cancel discovery calls?
A discovery call is a brief introductory online video meeting lasting up to 20 minutes.
It gives us an opportunity to meet, discuss what you are seeking and consider whether further work might be appropriate.
A discovery call is not a therapy, counselling or coaching session.
It is not a diagnostic, medical, psychiatric, psychological, forensic or risk assessment.
A discovery call costs £25, and is for the duration of up to 20-minutes together.
Payment is made when booking through WriteUpp and Stripe.
No. Either of us may decide after the discovery call that proceeding would not be appropriate.
Paying for a discovery call is payment for the time reserved and the call provided. It does not guarantee access to future appointments.
Possibly. After considering your email enquiry, I may send either a discovery-call booking link or a full-session booking link.
A discovery call is not compulsory in every case.
If you cancel within 48 hours, fail to attend, or repeatedly rearrange a discovery call on three occasions, I may decline to offer another discovery call.
You may contact me if exceptional circumstances affected the bookings, but a further discovery call is not guaranteed.
How much does a session cost?
How long is a session?
How do I book?
Why do I need to register with WriteUpp?
How do I pay?
Will I receive a receipt?
Can I request an invoice?
Can I pay by bank transfer?
BOOKING, FEES AND PAYMENT
A 60-minute psychotherapy, counselling or coaching session costs at the standard rate is shown on the ‘Fees’ page here.
A 20-minute discovery call costs £25.
The applicable fee will be shown before you complete a booking.
Psychotherapy, counselling and coaching sessions last for up to 60 minutes.
Discovery calls last for up to 20 minutes.
You must contact me before booking.
If I believe that my service may be suitable, I will send you an individual WriteUpp booking link.
You can then:
Register with WriteUpp.
Select an available appointment.
Review the relevant information and Terms of Service.
Confirm your agreement.
Pay through Stripe.
Receive a booking-confirmation email and instructions for joining the session.
I use WriteUpp as my practice-management system.
It allows me to manage appointments, clinical information, secure video sessions and payments within one professional system.
Your personal information is handled in accordance with my Privacy Notice.
Payment is normally made through Stripe when you book through WriteUpp.
The appointment is not secured until payment has been accepted and a booking-confirmation email has been issued.
WriteUpp ordinarily sends an automated payment receipt when payment is made through Stripe.
Please ensure that the email address connected to your WriteUpp account is accurate and check your spam or junk folder if the receipt does not appear.
Yes. An invoice is available on request.
If WriteUpp later introduces a suitable automated invoicing facility and I adopt it, invoices may subsequently be supplied automatically.
Payment is normally made through Stripe.
By individual agreement, bank transfer may be available where you have a regular appointment at the same day and time each week or fortnight.
This may include an arrangement agreed as a reasonable adjustment.
Bank transfer is not available as a way of asking me to select a different appointment manually from the available calendar each time.
If you wish to choose different appointment times, you will ordinarily need to use WriteUpp and pay through Stripe.
Can I have the same appointment every week or fortnight?
Are concessions available?
Are concessions available to Transactional Analysis trainees?
Do you increase your fees?
Possibly. A regular weekly or fortnightly appointment may be agreed between us, subject to availability and the suitability of that arrangement.
The day, time, payment method, cancellation arrangements and plans for holidays or breaks should be agreed before the recurring arrangement begins.
A limited number of concessionary arrangements may be available in individual circumstances, including for some Transactional Analysis trainees.
Concessions are not guaranteed and may depend on availability.
Any concessionary fee must be agreed in writing.
A limited concessionary rate may be available to some Transactional Analysis trainees.
Trainees are responsible for checking with their training institute, primary supervisor where applicable, and relevant membership, accrediting or examination body that:
I am an appropriate therapist for their particular training route.
My professional status meets the applicable requirements.
Sessions with me may be counted towards their personal-therapy hours.
The proposed frequency of therapy meets their training requirements.
I do not monitor or guarantee completion of a trainee’s required annual or overall number of therapy hours.
I can sign reasonable attendance logs or provide factual confirmation of attended sessions without an additional fee.
Only sessions actually attended can be confirmed as therapy hours. Cancelled or missed sessions do not count as attended therapy.
I review fees periodically.
Existing clients will normally receive approximately two months’ written notice of a fee increase.
Any new fee and the date from which it applies will be stated clearly.
If a fee increase creates difficulty, you may discuss ending, changing the frequency of sessions or whether a concessionary arrangement is available.
Can I cancel or reschedule an appointment?
What happens if I cancel within 48 hours?
What if an emergency or exceptional circumstance prevents me from attending?
What happens if I arrive late?
How long will you wait if I do not arrive?
What happens if you (Vauna) cancel?
What are the 14-day statutory cancellation rights?
Yes. You may cancel or reschedule without charge up to 48 hours before the scheduled start time.
You can ordinarily do this using the link in your WriteUpp confirmation email.
You may also email me at vauna@protonmail.com.
If you cancel or reschedule less than 48 hours before the appointment, the full fee will normally remain payable and will not usually be refunded. This is because the appointment has been reserved for you and is unlikely to be filled at short notice. This policy does not override any statutory consumer rights that apply.
Please email me using the contact form or my email address vauna@protonmail.com to explain what has happened. I consider exceptional circumstances individually and may offer a refund, credit or replacement appointment. This is discretionary and does not guarantee that the fee will be waived.
A decision made in one situation does not create an automatic entitlement in another situation.
Your statutory consumer rights are not affected.
The session will normally still finish at its originally scheduled time and the full fee will remain payable.
Where an unavoidable delay has occurred and my diary permits, I may agree to extend the session.
An extension is not guaranteed and should not be relied upon as part of the normal arrangement.
I will normally remain available through the WriteUpp video link for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, the appointment may be treated as missed.
I may email you, but I cannot guarantee that I will always be able to do so.
A missed session is normally charged at the full fee.
If I cancel an appointment, you may choose:
A full refund.
A credit towards another appointment.
A rearranged appointment.
I will provide as much notice as reasonably possible.
When you book online, you may have a legal right to cancel the contract within 14 days. If you ask for the service to begin during that period, you may need to pay a reasonable amount for any client-specific work already completed before you cancel. Once the booked service has been fully provided, the statutory right to cancel that completed service may end. Full details are set out in the Terms of Service.
How to I use the session I’ve booked?
What do I need for an online session?
Can I join while driving or doing another activity?
Can another person be present?
Can I record or transcribe a session?
What happens if the video connection fails?
ONLINE SESSIONS
Sessions take place through the secure video-consultation facility within WriteUpp.
Your confirmation email will provide information about accessing the session.
You will need:
A suitable internet-connected device with a microphone and camera.
A sufficiently reliable internet connection.
Access to the email address connected with your WriteUpp account.
A place where you can participate safely and with an appropriate level of privacy.
You should take reasonable steps to prevent interruption or being overheard.
No. You must not attend while driving, controlling machinery or carrying out another activity that requires your attention. You can have our session in your car if you are safely parked and you are safe in the car with privacy assured.
If your circumstances are unsafe or unsuitable for meaningful work, I may pause or end the session.
No other person should be present, listening to or observing the session unless we have discussed and agreed this beforehand.
Please tell me if another person enters the room or can hear the session.
No, not without my explicit prior written agreement.
Sessions must not be:
Audio-recorded.
Video-recorded.
Photographed.
Screenshotted.
Screen-recorded.
Transcribed.
Captured through artificial-intelligence tools.
Recorded using a second device.
Recorded by equipment placed outside the camera’s view.
Documented by another person.
I will not record or transcribe a session without your prior informed agreement.
We will first attempt to reconnect through WriteUpp.
If reconnection is not possible, I will ordinarily contact you by email. I do not routinely telephone when a video connection fails.
Where possible, we may continue after reconnecting or agree another suitable arrangement.
If a substantial part of the session is lost because of a technical problem that neither of us could reasonably prevent, I will make the unused time available later or agree another fair arrangement.
A brief interruption does not automatically result in a full replacement session.
Can I attend while travelling?
Which countries can you work with?
Do I need to tell you where I am during a session?
You must tell me in advance if you intend to attend from a country or territory different from your usual location.
A booking made while you are ordinarily based in one country does not automatically mean that I can provide a session while you are elsewhere.
I may need to postpone or decline a session where your location creates legal, professional, insurance, safeguarding or emergency-response difficulties.
I may be able to work with adults in the United Kingdom and in certain other countries.
International work depends on:
My insurance.
Relevant local law and professional requirements.
Whether appropriate emergency action would be possible.
Whether I consider the work safe and suitable.
I cannot provide sessions to people physically located in territories excluded by my professional insurance.
Please tell me your physical country of location when enquiring and before travelling.
Yes. I need to know the country and physical location from which you are attending.
I may also ask for information that would allow an appropriate response if a serious emergency arose.
Is the service confidential?
Do you discuss your work in supervision?
Can I email you between sessions?
Can I contact you through social media?
What happens if we encounter each other in public?
CONFIDENTIALITY, RECORDS AND COMMUNICATION
I handle information disclosed during therapy, counselling, coaching and discovery calls with care and in accordance with my professional and legal responsibilities.
Confidentiality is not absolute.
Information may need to be disclosed where:
You have given valid consent.
Disclosure is required by law.
A court or other authorised body requires it.
There is a serious concern about harm.
A safeguarding concern arises.
Disclosure is needed for a legal claim, professional complaint or insurance matter.
Another lawful and professionally justified reason applies.
Where reasonably possible and appropriate, I will discuss a proposed disclosure with you beforehand.
Yes. Professional supervision is part of responsible psychotherapy, counselling and coaching practice.
I may discuss aspects of my work with a suitably qualified supervisor.
I minimise or omit identifying information where reasonably practicable.
Supervisors are expected to maintain professional confidentiality, subject to their own legal and ethical responsibilities.
You may email about appointments and administrative matters.
Email is not continuously monitored.
Therapeutic or coaching work ordinarily takes place within booked sessions.
I may not provide a detailed written response to a long therapeutic email and may suggest bringing the material to the next session.
Social media is not an appropriate place for private therapeutic or coaching conversations.
Following, commenting on or messaging me through a public platform does not create a professional relationship.
I will not ordinarily discuss your therapy, counselling or coaching through social media.
Please consider the privacy implications of publicly following, tagging or interacting with a therapist’s professional account.
I may not acknowledge you first because doing so could reveal that you are or have been a client.
You are free to decide whether you wish to acknowledge me.
We can discuss any public encounter in a later session if it feels important.
Do you write letters or reports?
How much does a letter or professional observation cost?
What can you include in a letter?
What will you not provide?
Can you confirm my attendance?
LETTERS, REPORTS AND OTHER REQUESTS
Letters, attendance confirmations and professional observations are not a routine part of the service.
I consider requests individually.
I will consider whether:
The request is within my competence and professional role.
I have enough relevant information.
The purpose is appropriate.
The document could be misunderstood or misused.
The request may affect the therapeutic or coaching relationship.
Any fee will be based on the hourly session rate applying to you and the estimated time required.
I will explain the proposed scope and price before beginning the work.
You can then accept or decline.
No chargeable work will begin until the scope and fee have been agreed.
I may provide factual confirmation or describe professional observations that I can responsibly support from our work.
This may include observations about the effect of disability or neurodivergence where those issues have arisen naturally in sessions.
Such observations are not based on a separate comprehensive assessment conducted for evidential purposes.
Unless specifically agreed, I do not provide:
Diagnostic reports.
Functional-capacity assessments.
Occupational-health reports.
Forensic reports.
Medico-legal reports.
Expert-witness reports.
Court reports.
Documents written to reach a predetermined conclusion.
Advocacy beyond the limits of my information, competence and professional role.
I may decline a request even where you are willing to pay.
I may provide factual confirmation of attendance where appropriate and agreed upon.
For Transactional Analysis trainees, I will sign reasonable attendance logs without an additional fee.
I will only confirm sessions I can verify as having been attended.
Can I request a reasonable adjustment?
Can you book appointments manually for me?
What if I cannot use the contact form?
REASONABLE ADJUSTMENT
Yes. I welcome requests for reasonable adjustments from disabled clients.
Requests are considered individually, taking account of the disadvantage involved, the likely effectiveness of the adjustment, practicality, safety, confidentiality, professional responsibilities and the capacity of a sole-practitioner service.
WriteUpp is the standard booking and payment route.
I cannot offer a continuously variable manual appointment-selection service in which you choose a different appointment from the available calendar each time without using WriteUpp.
Where appropriate and practicable, I may be able to arrange and manually book a regular appointment at the same day and time weekly or fortnightly, with payment by bank transfer.
Other adjustments can be discussed, but not every requested adjustment will necessarily be reasonable or practicable.
You may contact me by email at vauna@protonmail.com.
Please keep the initial message brief and avoid including highly sensitive clinical information.
Can I take a break from sessions?
How do we know when the relationship has ended?
Can I come back after ending or taking a long break?
Will I need to agree to new terms if I return?
Can you end the work?
BREAKS, ENDINGS AND RETURNING
Yes. You are welcome to take a break.
Where possible, it is useful to discuss a planned break so that we can consider how long it may last, whether any future appointment will be reserved and how you will re-establish contact.
Availability after a break cannot be guaranteed unless a future arrangement has been expressly agreed.
You may end therapy, counselling or coaching at any time.
Where possible, I encourage endings or extended breaks to be discussed rather than taking place solely through cancellation or by ceasing to book.
If you do not attend or book a session for three consecutive calendar months and we have not expressly agreed an ongoing break or future appointment, I will normally regard that period of work as having ended.
Yes. You are welcome to contact me again.
Many people return for further periods of work at different stages of their lives.
Returning is subject to my availability and a brief consideration of whether restarting remains appropriate.
After three months without a booked or attended session, please email me before using an old booking link.
Possibly. We may need to update contact, location, emergency or other relevant information.
You may also need to accept a current version of the Terms of Service, Therapy and Counselling Agreement or Coaching Agreement.
Yes. I may propose ending, pausing or referring the work where:
The service is no longer useful or appropriate.
Your needs fall outside my competence.
Online work is unsafe or impracticable.
Your location creates legal or insurance difficulties.
There is a serious or repeated boundary breach.
Unauthorised recording has occurred.
Payment remains outstanding.
Attendance is too inconsistent for the work to remain viable.
A conflict of interest arises.
My health, availability or capacity prevents appropriate continuation.
Where possible, I will discuss the ending and provide reasonable notice.
What should I do if I am unhappy with something?
Where can I find the Complaints Procedure?
COMPLAINTS AND CONCERNS
You are welcome to raise a concern with me.
Where possible, difficulties, misunderstandings and dissatisfaction can be discussed directly.
You may also make a formal complaint under my Complaints Procedure.
Raising a concern will not in itself lead to punitive treatment or automatic termination of the work.
The Complaints Procedure is available through the legal and policy links on this website.
It explains:
How to raise an informal concern.
How to make a formal complaint.
How complaints are acknowledged and considered.
Relevant professional and external routes.
What should I read before making an enquiry?
What should I put in my initial message?
Does contacting you mean that you have agreed to work with me?
BEFORE CONTACTING ME
Before contacting me, please read the documents and information related to service provision (everything listed on the Site Map) including, but not limited to such things as":
The Home Page, containing info about me and who i work with
The Privacy Notice.
The EID Policy
This will help you decide whether my services, fees, booking arrangements and boundaries are likely to suit you.
Please briefly state:
Whether you are interested in psychotherapy, counselling, coaching or a discovery call.
That you are aged 18 or over.
The country from which you will attend sessions.
A brief outline of what you are seeking.
You do not need to provide a detailed personal history or highly sensitive information at this stage.
No. A professional relationship begins only after I have agreed to offer the relevant service and the applicable booking and agreement process has been completed.