How to recognise serious work in this field

This is a field where abuse is common, and where people usually enquire at a bad moment. These are the signs we would look at ourselves.

1. The guarantee

The first and most reliable sign. No one can guarantee you a result — and whoever does is telling you, without meaning to, everything you need to know about them. Anyone working seriously will tell you whether they believe they can contribute something, and will equally tell you when they believe they cannot — even if you are willing to pay.

2. The price

It is stated in advance, clearly, and it does not change with the urgency you convey. If the figure rises once you appear desperate, or if «additional work» appears halfway through, that is not a method. That is an escalation.

3. The third person

No serious practitioner will work on someone who has not asked for it. However it is phrased, whether it concerns a child, a partner or a business associate, and however good the intention. It is a line that is not up for discussion. Whoever crosses it for you will cross it against you.

4. Testimonials

The ones you can read are worthless, for a simple reason: if someone shows you another client's case, you already know what they will do tomorrow with yours. In work that rests on confidentiality, the absence of references is not a weakness — it is the proof that the protocol is being kept.

5. Haste

«We must act before it is too late», «this week is the moment», «your situation will get worse». These are pressure formulas, and their function is to stop you thinking. A serious case can bear your taking a few days.

6. Other people's terrain

If your situation has a medical, legal or financial dimension, an honest adviser will send you there first. Not as an excuse, but because it is the correct order. Nothing we do replaces a doctor, a lawyer or a financial adviser — and anyone implying otherwise is committing something worse than commercial exaggeration.

What you are entitled to ask for

That the method be explained before you pay. That you be given a fixed price. That a person answers you, not a switchboard. That they say no when the answer is no. And that your name appears nowhere. Ever.

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