Joanna Online Therapy

What is Single Session Therapy?

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Single Session Therapy (often abbreviated to SST) describes a one-off, standalone session during which client and therapist aim to make meaningful progress on a single issue.

SST is also sometimes referred to as ONEplus Therapy.  Although you, the client, are only booking one session with the therapist, further support afterwards is available if you decide you would like additional help.  Options for further support include:

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- booking another Single Session.

- booking a series of 4-6 sessions.

- entering into longer-term therapy.

- signposting to other forms of support.

- my help in finding an alternative therapist for you if you would like to have therapy, but not with me.

 

What are the key differences between Single Session Therapy and ongoing therapy?

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To help with this comparison, see below for a list of the key features of Single Session Therapy (shortened, here, to SST) together with the equivalent features of ongoing therapy:

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Forming a clear goal at the outset

SST:  For SST to be effective we will need to agree a clear focus and identify an achievable goal at the beginning of your session.  I will work hard throughout the session to keep us focused on this goal so that you are more likely to leave having achieved meaningful progress.

Ongoing therapy:  In ongoing therapy you may have a clear goal or you may not.  Ongoing therapy can work within either scenario.  Sometimes clients feel something is wrong but are hazy on the detail.  Ongoing therapy allows for a deeper exploration of issues as they arise.  

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Completion of a pre-session questionnaire

SST:  To help with the process of defining a goal, I will send you a short questionnaire before your session.  Filling out and returning this questionnaire before your session generally helps you, the client, to think more deeply about what you would like to achieve.  It also helps me, your therapist, to prepare more effectively for your session.  It is up to you whether or not you fill out and return the questionnaire.  You are under no obligation but clients generally find it helpful.

​Ongoing therapy:  I will not send you a questionnaire ahead of your session because the detail of what you want to explore, and what you hope to gain from therapy, will form part of our initial session.  Instead of focusing on achieving meaningful progress within that session, our first session would instead be an opportunity for us to form a joint understanding of what you hope to gain from therapy, and for us to decide whether we feel we are a good fit and want to commit to working together. 

 

More immediate awareness of our ending​

SST:  As we are agreeing to meet only once when you book your session, we will both be aware that we may not meet again afterwards.  This means we will be actively working towards a useful ending during your session as this may be the one and only time we meet.

​Ongoing therapy:  I will always bear in mind, as we work together, that the ultimate goal for us both is for our time together to come to an end, with you leaving therapy having had a useful and meaningful experience.  The detail of how we jointly agree when the time is right to end, and the feelings associated with saying goodbye, form part of our work together.  The way we manage endings in therapy is relevant to all endings, including those outside the therapy room.  Acknowledging, and planning for, the ending gives us the opportunity to review our time together and for you to consolidate the gains you have made so that they become part of your everyday life after we say goodbye.   Unlike with SST, we do not need to actively hold the ending in mind every step of the way.  It is generally more of a background factor in ongoing therapy than the immediate concern it is for SST.

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Greater flexibility in when you have your session

SST:  Because we are only agreeing to meet once, we can choose a time and day when you might be free at the moment but not in future.  This can help with the need to address an issue that is pressing in its urgency.

Ongoing therapy:  When we commit to working together on an ongoing basis, it is important to identify a day and time when we will both be available at the same time each week.  Ongoing therapy works best when you, the client, know that you have a regular slot set aside for you at a pre-agreed time.  It becomes one of the anchors that provides a degree of certainty and relief amidst whatever else might be going on for you.

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Tangible progress after just one session

SST:  The sole aim of SST is to give you, the client, the opportunity to make meaningful progress on a clearly defined issue within just one session.  This can be helpful for a one-off issue and it can also be helpful in gaining clarity about what might be troubling you if you are unsure.  We will agree, together, at the outset of the session, a desired outcome that we both agree is achievable and will be useful to you.

Ongoing therapy:  We do not commit to focus on a single issue in just one session.  Rather, we agree to meet for an initial, exploratory session, to see if we would like to commit to working together.  Sometimes the initial session will be the final session because you may find you get what you need from it, or you may feel I'm not the right therapist for you, or the goal you hope to achieve may not be one I feel able to work towards.  This is fine, and I am happy to help you think about appropriate next steps if this happens.

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Different cost per SST session

​SST:  To reflect the extra time spent in preparing for the session, I charge £100 per SST session.

Ongoing therapy:  Your initial session will cost £35.  This reflects the exploratory 'getting to know you' nature of the session.  If we agree to commit to working together subsequent sessions will cost £75.​​​​

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Please feel free to contact me with any questions at all that you may have about SST.