WHAT IS COUNSELLING?
Counselling is an
opportunity for you to work towards living in a more satisfying
way with respect to your own unique qualities and circumstances.
You may wish to resolve problems, make difficult decisions or
come to terms with changes in your life. You may seek to understand
why you behave in certain ways that repeatedly leave you feeling
dissatisfied, and seek to learn to behave differently. You may
feel that you are always putting yourself down and want to develop
your sense of self- esteem and confidence.
WHAT IS PSYCHOTHERAPY?
In psychotherapy,
clients can and do address past experiences and traumas more directly,
in order to achieve deeper healing and resolution of current symptoms.
Generally psychotherapy involves a greater commitment in both
time and emotion.
WHAT WILL WE DO
AS COUNSELLORS/THERAPISTS?
We will listen and
seek to understand the problem or concern you present from your
point of view. We will accept you with respect and will not be
critical or judgmental. We will encourage and help you to make
clear what you want to achieve in positive, realistic and measurable
terms. We will discuss with you how you can bring this about and
make agreements with you about the role that you want us to take
in helping you. We may offer you different ways to think about
yourself and your life and we may mirror back to you behaviours
that you engage in that are self-destructive or negative. We will
not give you advice or tell you what to do. We cannot solve your
problems or make you well, only you can do that, but we will be
committed to working with you to help you to achieve your own
goals for as long as we remain in a contracted helping relationship.
WHO COMES TO COUNSELLING/THERAPY?
Anyone going through
a time of personal difficulty, being worried, depressed or anxious
and not understand why. We all go through crises in our life;
often we manage to resolve them or adjust healthily to them, but
sometimes we find this impossible and we are left feeling helpless
and unable to cope. Others come with clear goals or simply wanting
to solve specific problems or to understand themselves and their
relationship better. Yet others come with long established concerns
such as personality disorders, eating disorders, physical symptoms
(e.g. migraine), obsessive-compulsive disorders, etc. If we think
you can be helped by another form of assistance (e.g. a support
group, financial advice, your GP) then we will tell you.
WHAT WILL YOU HAVE
TO TALK ABOUT?
Whatever you choose
that seems to you relevant. These may be things that are happening
now or things from your past or childhood. It will be important
that you are as open and honest as you can be; and that you are
open to, and willing to express, the internal resistance's that
you feel when talking about yourself and your relationships, for
these might hold the key to resolving your difficulties.
WHO ELSE WILL KNOW?
What is shared in
counselling and psychotherapy is strictly confidential. Even the
fact that you attend is kept confidential. However there is an
exception; We have a professional obligation to have our work
supervised to ensure that we are working ethically, competently
and in your best interest. Our supervisor is also bound by a code
of confidentiality. Your full consent would be necessary for your
therapist to use any material in relation to your history. If
you give us any information that seems to indicate and immediate
threat to your life or health, or anybody else's then we reserve
the right to take appropriate action.
CAN MY PARTNER
COME TOO?
Yes, if yours is a
problem that relates to both of you. But we would not work with
you both as separate clients without an agreement to share whatever
was talked about.
HOW OFTEN WILL
I HAVE TO COME?
This will be discussed
and agreed between us. Generally once a week is desirable as this
gives time for reflection on the work between sessions without
too long a break in our working relationship.
HOW LONG WILL IT
LAST?
Sessions normally
last for one hour, but longer sessions may be desirable if you
are travelling long distances. Times and frequency are a matter
of agreement between us. The number of sessions will depend on
the nature and complexity of the problem or concern. Sometimes
one or two sessions is sufficient or work may continue over several
weeks, months or even years.
CHOOSING A COUNSELLOR?
Personal recommendation
from someone you respect is helpful but not always possible. In
any event it is always wise to check a counsellor or therapist's
training, experience, qualifications, and supervision arrangements.
In addition you can also check they belong to a recognised Professional
Association with a code of ethics and practice. A good counsellor
will welcome and encourage you to ask relevant questions and to
seek information. Finally the best judge of whether a counsellor/therapist
is right for you is yourself. Do you like their manner towards
you and could you be completely open to them about intimate issues?
Do you feel respected and safe with this person? Are they open
and clear about the business side of the arrangement? Trust and
listen to your intuition.
WHAT GIVES YOU
THE RIGHT TO BE MY COUNSELLOR/THERAPIST?
Currently anyone can
set up as a counsellor or psychotherapist in this country, but
most reputable practitioners study and train to become accredited
or certified by a recognised Professional Association.
Back
to top
