Olive Branch Counselling Services - #02-32 Mountbatten Square

During my times of grief Sam helped me to look at life with a new perspective. His approach helped me to look at life positively. Looking forward to a new beginning.

I felt judged and that is not what you want going into a counselling session. I don't feel he tried to hear what I was feeling but that he had already formed an opinion right from the start. I felt like I was being talked down to instead of understood. I do not recommend.

Sam is a very understanding and thoughtful professional. While he suggests different conclusions to help us process our thoughts, he listens intently and does his best in empathizing. Not enough credit has been given on this site to his professionalism, although he has gone out of his way to assist clients. Thank you!

Definitely felt very judged by the counselor. He spoke more than I did during the whole session and continued giving his very unprofessional opinions about our situation. Ethics and empathy is something that’s very lacking about this place. If you want to feel worse about your grief and woes than this is the place to go.

I went to Olive Branch trying to seek a solution to a personal problem I was facing. Truth be told, I felt uncertain and was skeptical, having never been to a counselor. However, the first session completely changed my view of counseling. Sam is a first-class counselor; he understands that change takes time and cannot be achieved overnight. The mental exercises he has given me have helped me tremendously by changing the way my brain operates. If you're like me and are looking through counselors on the internet, you have my word that visiting Sam will be a decision that you won't regret.

Some very clear RED FLAGS when my wife and I sought marriage counselling. I very much question the ethics and professionalism of the counseller I saw. 1. We both felt judged. Alot of the counseller speak was you SHOULD do this and SHOULDN'T do that. This shouldn't be the case and counseller should guide along rather than dictate. 2. Counseller referenced some self-created, anecdotally-based relationship model about men wanting respect and women wanting security. Seemed to be based on archaic gender archetypes that we didn't identify with. Why not use a more evidence backed modality like Gottman methods? 3. Counseller cited his own personal experience, A LOT. These anecdotes were irrelevant to our issues. Maybe he was trying to be motivating, well, it wasn't. This is also not recommended professionally. Its about the client, NOT you. 4. Counseller talked too much. We lost concentration and got incredibly bored. 5. Counseller felt very cold in the beginning. No smiles. No warm greetings. We didn't feel encouraged to talk. He seemed to warm up to his own jokes later, which we didn't find funny. 6. We should have known better when we first saw website. No detail on psychological modalities they mainly operate by. It became more apparent during the session. They call it an integrative approach, but with no particular discipline to guide it, that's like visiting a restaurant that serves Chinese, Indian, Icelandic and Japanese food. It probably won't taste that good. Disclaimer: I have a professional background in psychology and counselling. I have seen much better counselling elsewhere. However, if you have absolutely no psychological sense and simply want someone to dictate to you instructions, go for it.

Sam guided me through a difficult marital event, helping to understand the other perspective from a professional point of view. What I liked the most is his ability to summarise and tailor learning points, without hesitation, into simple chunks that are easily understood. Personally, this style worked for me. There is obviously a wealth of experience behind his practical advice. I applied the simple tips and put the work in to make the necessary changes. It rescued a marriage and we have never been happier. I’m very grateful to have received his assistance and only sorry it was not a few years ago. Also reasonably priced in comparison to others. The only complaint is that it is sometimes not that easy to get a slot. He is v popular. Thank you Sam!

Enjoyed my session where the personal experience and anecdoctal examples from the counselor helped. I am not a professional in this field but would like to say a word of fairness on some of the negatvie reviews here. I guess as with many things in life, counselling sessions are subjective in terms of style. If u are someone who wants to troubleshoot your life and like to hear the cold hard truth, this place is great for you. If you would like to seek validation and perhaps only hear the good stuff then maybe not so.