COUNSELLING
Perhaps the heaviest burdens we carry in life are what we think of as our mistakes, weaknesses or failures. We may blame others, including those close to us, who we feel have let us down or been cruel or heartless towards us. Or we may feel, without tangible or easily-identifiable reasons, that life feels somewhat hollow and unsatisfying in crucial areas or that it is passing us by while others around us seem to be making progress.Seeking counselling is a brave step. It is about striving to explore and understand why our chances of getting maximum enjoyment out of each day as it comes, seems to fail.
By seeking professional help we also open ourselves up to the possibility of tackling those limiting feelings that hinder our capacity for full expression of our unique character.
Seeing a counsellor can therefore be part of a life-changing journey that can involve gently unburdening yourself of past recriminations and negative self-beliefs.
These can gradually be replaced with more positive strategies aimed at helping
If
After all, why should
If, upon reflection,
Letting go of the toxic effects of past traumas by locating and harnessing your own inner power and resources is solely your business, as too is consciously planting the seeds for a more satisfying and fulfilling future.
My role, as a therapist, is to try and help support
Positive Outcomes: Benefits that can result from counselling include:
Aims and Objectives of counselling
The counsellor’s aim is to create a safe, confidential and non-threatening environment that enables exploration of deeply personal issues to take place at a pace that feels right for each individual.
It is NOT to become a semi-permanent crutch for his/her client to lean on, nor is it to issue advice by telling anyone else how they should think or live their life.
Ultimately the aim is for the client to implement change by becoming empowered to make choices that they decide are right for them. Indeed, successful counselling is marked by its ending because the client has gained enough from sessions to be equipped with new perspectives, strategies and techniques to be able to face life’s challenges with renewed impetus and vigour.
What are the different approaches to counselling?
Person Centred: This type of counselling is non-directive. The counsellor acts as a source of understanding and encouragement rather than the problem solver.
The Person-Centred approach allows clients to move at their own pace and to direct their own development. This means they are aware that the counsellor believes in their capability to manage problems, which encourages them to believe in their strengths, values and worth.
An individual's self-concept is an important issue in this type of counselling; if someone has been brought up around negative experiences or interactions, it is likely that the person's self-concept will be damaged.
With this method, it is not the counsellor's task to direct or diagnose the individual; their role is to listen, understand and accept in a non-judgemental manner, thus allowing the clients to help themselves. This is thought to be extremely beneficial in repairing a person's self-concept in order to facilitate the possibility of lasting change by modelling new relationship patterns.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(CBT): CBT tends to be more time-focused and directive by working in the here and now . Homework tasks, usually exercises at home, may be prescribed for clients in order to broaden experience by doing things differently and then to evaluate how it feels to engage in new behaviour.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is used by counsellors and psychologists to help ease emotional distress by recognising and treating the underlying psychological problems.
This type of therapy has proven to be an effective method of treatment for a variety of problems, including anxiety disorders, depression disorders, stress, anger and coping with loss.
Psychodynamic counselling: Psychodynamic approaches are based on theories of mental functioning that acknowledge how individuals have perceptions, thoughts and desires they are not consciously aware of.
Past, present and future are undeniably interconnected. Psychodynamic counselling explores how unconsciously we bring into our present intimate relationships unresolved dilemmas that possibly originated in the long forgotten past, frustrating the potential of the future.
This work focuses on the unconscious relationship patterns that evolved from childhood and how they have become building blocks, or templates, for current thoughts and behaviour, even though they may not be constructively serving the client’s adult needs.
The counsellor’s aim is to create a safe, confidential and non-threatening environment that enables exploration of deeply personal issues to take place at a pace that feels right for each individual.
It is NOT to become a semi-permanent crutch for his/her client to lean on, nor is it to issue advice by telling anyone else how they should think or live their life.
Ultimately the aim is for the client to implement change by becoming empowered to make choices that they decide are right for them. Indeed, successful counselling is marked by its ending because the client has gained enough from sessions to be equipped with new perspectives, strategies and techniques to be able to face life’s challenges with renewed impetus and vigour.
What are the different approaches to counselling?
Person Centred: This type of counselling is non-directive. The counsellor acts as a source of understanding and encouragement rather than the problem solver.
The Person-Centred approach allows clients to move at their own pace and to direct their own development. This means they are aware that the counsellor believes in their capability to manage problems, which encourages them to believe in their strengths, values and worth.
An individual's self-concept is an important issue in this type of counselling; if someone has been brought up around negative experiences or interactions, it is likely that the person's self-concept will be damaged.
With this method, it is not the counsellor's task to direct or diagnose the individual; their role is to listen, understand and accept in a non-judgemental manner, thus allowing the clients to help themselves. This is thought to be extremely beneficial in repairing a person's self-concept in order to facilitate the possibility of lasting change by modelling new relationship patterns.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(CBT): CBT tends to be more time-focused and directive by working in the here and now . Homework tasks, usually exercises at home, may be prescribed for clients in order to broaden experience by doing things differently and then to evaluate how it feels to engage in new behaviour.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is used by counsellors and psychologists to help ease emotional distress by recognising and treating the underlying psychological problems.
This type of therapy has proven to be an effective method of treatment for a variety of problems, including anxiety disorders, depression disorders, stress, anger and coping with loss.
Psychodynamic counselling: Psychodynamic approaches are based on theories of mental functioning that acknowledge how individuals have perceptions, thoughts and desires they are not consciously aware of.
Past, present and future are undeniably interconnected. Psychodynamic counselling explores how unconsciously we bring into our present intimate relationships unresolved dilemmas that possibly originated in the long forgotten past, frustrating the potential of the future.
This work focuses on the unconscious relationship patterns that evolved from childhood and how they have become building blocks, or templates, for current thoughts and behaviour, even though they may not be constructively serving the client’s adult needs.
