The Pathways Practice
What I offer
I offer therapies for those who are in romantic relationships, for individuals, for families, or which include any person significant to you. I am a systemic & family therapist, and a cognitive behavioural therapist.
I specialise in working with families and couples where at least one person is struggling with their mental health. You could be coming together to support one person- or because you want some changes in your family or couple relationships. I also see concerned families when the person with mental health isn't up for therapy at the moment. I am here to support you to get un-stuck and find a way forward with new ideas, perspectives, and/or new ways of communicating and relating to one another. Therapy is often about finding some kind of way forwards from how life is now, and I am here to help you figure that out. With more than one person in the room, this is often a process, as people come with different ideas. I will help you think through these different views and make sure everyone has a fair space to be heard and to participate.
With over ten years experience working in public mental health services, I have the understanding and skills to work with people with most mental health difficulties- and to work with the challenges that mental health brings to relationships. Every family and individual is unique, with different hopes and goals- so I will always adapt my approach .
I also offer initial mental health consultations and advice.
A bit more about how I work…
It can be hard to take that first step, but be reassured we will take things at a pace comfortable for everyone. I want to get to know your family and how you work. From my experience and training, it is important to think about the strengths, resources, and important connections in your family as part of the therapeutic work together- as well as looking at difficulties. For example, faith and spirituality are a huge part of how people make meaning and decide to live their lives. So this is often very relevant and important to bring into therapy. We will also think about the challenges you are confronting, and I will scaffold the difficult conversations so they feel manageable. Family therapists are experts in facilitating difficult conversations! I think we can always find a light-hearted or funny moment, even in the darkest times- and even in therapy. If humour is a way you get through things, you will be in good company!
Problems don’t happen in a vacuum, and neither do we live in one. Whether I am doing work with individuals or with more than one person, it will be important to think broadly about what is going on in different areas of life, and how this impacts the problem you are bringing.
Collaboration is always a key cornerstone of therapy- there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. This is also true of cognitive behavioural therapy.
My experience & qualifications
I have over 10 years of working in public mental health services in Australia and the UK, as a therapist and mental health nurse. This has included community and inpatient roles across adult and child/adolescent services. As well as working in private practice, I continue to work in the NHS where I am employed as a highly specialist psychological therapist. I am skilled working with individuals with diagnoses including psychotic disorders, personality disorders, and bipolar affective disorder.
MSc Mental Health Nursing, 2012, University of Melbourne
PgDip CBT, 2020, King’s College London
MSc Family & Systemic Therapy, 2024, King’s College London
What to expect in a first therapy session
The key aims of a first session are:
· to reach a shared initial understanding of your problems
· to understand your goals
· to know what is important to you
· to propose some ways of working together with the problem and how often to meet
If my way of working speaks to you, I would encourage you to get in contact to organize a time for us to have a brief 15 minutes chat to think about the possibility of working together. This is an opportunity to discuss what you want help with, and see if we are a good fit for working together.
And what about mental health consultations
A mental health consultation is a 30 minute appointment where we can discuss your concerns and think about what might be helpful for you going forwards. There may be different organizations, groups, therapies, activities, or self-help materials I can direct you to depending on your concern. This is a great first step if you are struggling and would like some advice.
What are your fees
I charge £90 for 50 minute therapy sessions and £50 for a 30 minute mental health consultation session.
Many therapists charge different rates depending how many people are in the room. This usually relates to the idea that when there are more people in therapy, it is more complex, and a higher level of skill is being utilized by the therapist. Another reason can be that systemic & family therapy models generally include more pre- session preparation and post-session reflection- which is additional work for the therapist. However, I include this within all of my sessions. I believe that complexity and intensity of the work is due to many factors beyond the number of people in the room.
Contact Us
Please use this form- or email me directly if you prefer (annabel.jones@thepathwayspractice.com) - with any queries or to arrange an initial free 15 minute chat.