Session Structure, Booking & Fees
Clear agreements around session structure, booking, and fees help create safety, continuity, and space for meaningful therapeutic work.
The way sessions are arranged is not simply practical. It forms part of the therapeutic container and supports depth, clarity, and trust over time.
Session structure
Therapeutic work begins with an agreement about how, when, and in what format we will meet. This shared frame supports continuity, rhythm, and a sense of steadiness as the work unfolds.
For individual therapy and integrative work you can choose between two ways of engaging:
Open-ended sessions — flexible and ongoing, offered online or in person.
Structured work (blocks of sessions) — agreed and scheduled in advance, offering continuity of focus over time.
Sessions are offered online (via Zoom) and in person (from the therapy room in Brentwood, Essex). In-person spaces are limited.
Details about booking, fees, and notice periods follow below.
Individual therapy
Individual therapy supports reflection on patterns, experience, relationships, and identity in a way that links thought, emotion, body, and context.
Open-ended 60-minute sessions
You can meet weekly or fortnightly in a rhythm that feels right for you. We review how this way of working is unfolding as you go.
Structured blocks
You can also choose a scheduled block of 12 sessions, agreed in advance. These can be:
60-minute talking sessions, or
90-minute integrative sessions.
Booking sessions in a block means the dates and times are secured in the diary for your course of work together.
Wherever we meet — in person or online — we begin with a conversation about how to shape your therapy so that it feels clear, safe, and supportive.
Integrative work
Integrative work brings together relational, psychological, and embodied dimensions of experience. It moves slowly and deeply, allowing time for sensation, reflection, and integration.
For this reason, integrative work is offered only in blocks of 12 sessions, with dates agreed and secured in advance.
These sessions are typically 90 minutes, creating enough space for embodied exploration alongside dialogue and reflection.
Integrative work takes place in person, because it includes body-based elements. Where helpful, it can also be offered in a hybrid format — with some talking sessions online and body-based work in person. In-person places are limited.
Relationship counselling
Relationship counselling is usually offered in focused blocks, as continuity tends to support relational work most effectively.
60-minute sessions
Weekly or fortnightly, as agreed
Typically arranged in 4-session blocks, with a built-in review
The focus of the work is held with care and can evolve naturally over time. Any shifts in direction are discussed openly and agreed collaboratively.
Parent support
Parent support is guided by a developmental approach, recognising that finding a new rhythm as a parent unfolds gradually over time.
A common pathway — which can be adapted to your needs — might look like this:
Phase 1: around 6 weekly sessions
Phase 2: around 4 fortnightly sessions
Phase 3 (optional): monthly sessions, offered in 3-session mini-blocks
The pace and shape of the work are always agreed together and reviewed as your sense of confidence, steadiness, and clarity grows.
In person and online sessions
Sessions are offered online via Zoom for UK and international clients, alongside a limited number of in-person sessions from my therapy room in Brentwood, Essex, just outside London.
Individual therapy and relationship counselling can be offered either online or in person.
Parent support is offered online only.
Integrative work is offered in person, or in a blended format that combines online talking sessions with in-person bodywork.
Booking sessions
I offer a free initial conversation, which creates space for us to pause together, reflect on what has brought you, and sense whether working together feels like a good fit.
Some people prefer to book a first session directly rather than having an initial conversation — this is equally welcome. In this case, the first session functions as an initial meeting: a chance to meet, understand what you are hoping for, and explore whether continuing together feels right. It does not mark the start of any contracted block.
If we decide to move forward, we consider together how you would like to work — either open-ended individual sessions or a structured block of sessions. Session dates and times are then agreed in advance — either during the initial conversation or in the first session — once practical matters such as availability, work, and family commitments have been gently clarified.
Because of this, sessions are arranged in advance rather than week by week, so your place in the diary is held clearly and consistently, whether you are working open-ended or within a block.
Fees
The fees listed below apply to new clients. Existing clients remain on their current fee for the duration of their agreed block or phase of work.
Session fees
Individual therapy (60 minutes):
£65 (€75 | $85| A$130)Parent support (60 minutes):
£70 (€80 | $90| A$140)Relationship counselling (60 minutes):
£75 (€85 | $95| A$150)Integrative work (90 minutes, in person):
£95 (UK only)
Fees are reviewed periodically. Any changes are communicated clearly and apply to new clients only. I hold a small number of reduced-fee places, subject to availability. These are offered within the same clear structure and reviewed regularly.
Payment and attendance
To support clear shared agreements around the work:
The first session is payable in advance for all clients. You can choose “Pay now” when booking, or select “Pay in person”, in which case an invoice will be issued and must be settled before the session takes place.
If you book and pay at the time of booking, sessions are charged in GBP (£) and any currency conversion is handled by your card or payment provider.
If you prefer to pay in EUR (€), USD ($), or Australian dollars (A$), please select “Pay in person” when booking and include your preferred currency in the booking notes. An invoice in your chosen currency will be issued prior to the session.
For online sessions beyond the first, invoices are issued in line with the agreed way of working. Where an invoice is sent after a session, payment is due within 24 hours of the session taking place.
Notice periods
For open-ended individual sessions:
If you need to cancel or rearrange, I ask for 48 hours’ notice. Sessions cancelled with less than 48 hours’ notice are charged in full.
For block arrangements:
Session dates are agreed in advance and reserved specifically for you.
Sessions cannot be cancelled or rescheduled.
Missed sessions remain payable.
If, for any reason, the therapy does not feel helpful or workable, there is no financial penalty for ending the work early. In this situation, the next scheduled review session will be brought forward and used as an ending session, allowing the work to close thoughtfully and without unfinished material.
If you are unsure where to begin
You do not need to know in advance what type of work you are seeking.
The initial conversation is a space to ask questions, share a little about what brings you, and decide together on the most appropriate way forward.
Final note
This structure exists to support the work, not to rush it.
Clear agreements allow the focus to remain on understanding, reflection, and meaningful change, rather than on ongoing logistical decisions.
© Ruta Gabalis Integrative Psychology & Therapy
Online Therapy (UK & International) | In-person bodywork by arrangement (Integrative Therapy only)