What is counselling & psychotherapy?
Counselling is two people in a quiet room, talking. It’s relaxed and informal.
It sounds simple, but counselling is a powerful process. It’s focused on you, your thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams, your past and how things are for you now. The focus may feel strange at first, but it’s important for me that you feel comfortable. I will do my best to put you at your ease.
Counselling often deals with difficult issues, but can also be fascinating. You may be nervous about coming and certainly it is a big step in helping yourself. We will go at your own pace and how ‘deep’ you go is up to you. Very difficult experiences are only talked about when you are ready.
How often do sessions take place?
Ideally, you will have your counselling or psychotherapy session once a week at the same time. This is because the frequency and regularity of the sessions contributes to their effectiveness. However, this isn’t always possible in practice if you have a very busy schedule. It’s also fine to be flexible and sometimes I see clients once a fortnight.
What can I expect from the counselling process?
If you would like an initial free 20 minute telephone assessment chat before you decide to book to see me for an initial consultation, you are very welcome.
I provide short and long-term counselling and psychotherapy. Through the counselling process I can answer any questions you may and we can think about what you would like to achieve from your sessions and work towards any goals you may have. Through working collaboratively with reviews every 6 weeks we can make sure that you are in a place where you are happy and ready to end before deciding on your last session date.
What Conditions Can it Help?
My training is in ‘integrative counselling and psychotherapy’. This means I work with both present-day issues, such as anxiety, depression and stress, and with problems which stem from the past, which may need longer-term psychotherapy.
What Benefits can be Expected?
Some of the many benefits of counselling are:
Giving yourself the time to be heard accurately and listened to.
Discovering tools to handle your difficult thoughts and feelings.
Breaking out of the vicious circle of anxious thoughts and feelings.
Freeing yourself from the 'black dog' of depression.
Letting go of difficult experiences and feelings in the past, finding acceptance and moving on.
Gaining a new perspective on your life and understanding yourself better.
Providing a way to move forward if you feel stuck, scared, angry or sad.
Asking for help may be hard but counselling, or longer-term psychotherapy really can help you out of the difficult times so that you find greater happiness in day-to-day life.
If you feel in need of immediate help please call The Samaritans on 08457 909090.
