Counselling
Counselling provides a secure and confidential space for you to share with a trained professional about your issues, concerns and difficulties. Your counsellor will help you explore your thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours so you can develop a better understanding of yourself and of others. A counsellor will not give you their opinions or advice or prescribe any medication. They will guide you to find your own solutions and take your own actions – whether that’s to make lasting and effective positive changes in your life or finding ways of dealing with your problems. Counsellors have a wide range of forms, styles and approaches depending on the needs of the individual and what approach may be suitable. Most counselling takes place in planned, regular sessions which last for around 50-60 minutes. How often you see your counsellor and how many sessions you have will depend on your personal circumstances and will be agreed between you and your counsellor.
One might see a counsellor on their own, as a couple or family, or in a small group with people who have similar concerns.
Most sessions take place in a dedicated counselling room but could also happen in the home, offices or clinic, or online or over the telephone. During a session, your counsellor may take you through specific exercises and activities designed to help with your issues, or you might have general discussions about how you're feeling and what issues you are facing. What you talk about will vary depend on what you want help with and the counsellors’s approach.
Sharing may include:
- - your feelings
- - your relationships
- - your emotions
- - your behaviours
- - your childhood
- - your future
- - your feelings
- - difficulties you are facing
- - your thoughts and ideas
- - places and situations you find difficult to deal with
- - pressure or oppression you may be experiencing
Your counsellor will be impartial but empathetic. They will listen to you without judging you and assist you in exploring your thoughts, feelings and emotions. They may offer information, they may highlight pathways, they may challenge you but they won’t tell you what you should think or do.
