Thinking about counselling? Unsure – but do need someone to talk to?
Possibly something has happened or changed in your life – maybe you’ve suffered a significant loss – and are struggling with this.
It might be that you feel like you’re stuck – just going through the motions.
Perhaps there’s something you need to talk about – and you don’t want everyone to know. Something very personal – even disturbing or traumatic.
Maybe you can’t say exactly what is wrong. Maybe there’s nothing wrong exactly, yet you’d like to explore the questions and possibilities that are on your mind.
Counselling is a kind of “Talking Therapy” that offers a safe space in which to explore thoughts and feelings, particularly when they are having a negative effect on your day-to-day living. This process aims to give you an opportunity to change – to realise your potentials – and consequently to live in a more satisfying way.
Counselling is not for everyone – and not every counsellor is suitable for every client. I offer a consultation, which is a confidential conversation but not a counselling session, to see if we can work well together. This would be for up to 60 minutes, at a reduced fee and with no obligation. Trust is crucial in counselling, and I suggest you follow your instincts when choosing who to work with.
As a counsellor, my job is to use my skills, experience, training and personal qualities to form a therapeutic relationship with my client. The process of therapy can be a challenging one, so it is important that we can work together in an atmosphere of trust and confidence.
Within the Person-Centred approach to counselling, advice is not given. However, there may be times when it would be appropriate to signpost you on to other services or sources of help and information.
Counselling is different from talking with a friend, family member, doctor, religious cleric, etc. An important distinction is that it is a “contracted” process. This means that we enter into a formal agreement about what is expected and required. This contract is signed by both parties before counselling begins.
Click here to open an example of a one-to-one counselling contract.
Clients sometimes wish to move on to a more future-focussed conversation, which may be closer to life coaching. We would have the option to do so (please see this page), or to merge elements of both counselling and coaching (here is an example of a combined contract).
A downloadable copy of my Privacy Policy is available here.
It may be that the sort of counselling I offer could help you achieve a more satisfying life. Please do get in contact to find out.