Counselling gives you the opportunity to talk with a trained professional, who can offer support, and new perspectives on your issue(s). It is designed to give you the time, space and encouragement to explore and understand the issue(s) you bring.
Counselling does not provide tailor-made or an instant cure, it can clarify problem(s) and help in their resolution. The counsellor will be able to help you think about your problem(s) from a different perspective. The role of the counsellor is to provide you with a secure framework in which to reflect upon your circumstances.
With each session the aim is to increase your awareness about yourself -your situation – your choices which are available to you. It provides you a platform to strengthen and support you in your painful, difficult times.
Counselling can help you to focus on and understand more clearly about the issues that concern you. By respecting your values, choices and lifestyle, the counsellor can work together with you towards making choices or changes that are right for you.
The main steps in the counselling process are:
• To help clarify the problem
• To identify options available to you in the situation
• To work out what you hope to achieve
• Identify ways to achieve this target
• To provide support, motivation & encouragement as you work towards your target
It does not matter how you present your problem. You can talk out your problem the way you are comfortable with. Sometimes there is silence; sometimes you might find yourself saying things you had not expected to say. The counsellor will help you explore the matter and will keep referring to you to clarify his/her understanding.
The 50 minute session is long enough for you to return to the different aspects until you are satisfied that you have expressed what you are really feeling.
Counsellors never give advice such as: “I’d leave that relationship if I were you” As the purpose of counselling is to help you make your own decision.
They will never enforce a moral decision about the course of action you ought to take.
They may sum up their understanding of what you have said so far, in order to help you move on and form a plan of action.
They can offer pointers to how others have successfully dealt with common problem(s) and may also make suggestion(s) such as: “did you think of the following” .
These suggestions will be drawn from their training and experiences in what has benefited others and which, of course, can be rejected by you if you feel its not helping.
It can be anything that is troubling you. For instance issues like:
Relationship mal-adjustments: with family, friends or colleagues.
Family Matters: companions, children, parenting, separation and divorce.
Lack of self-belief or confidence: feeling judged, fear of failure, feeling of resentment and not being good enough.
Constant Stress: uncontrollable anxiety, constant fear or concerns, panic or manic attacks, feeling inadequate.
Depression: feeling lonely, unloved, meaning less, isolated, or suicidal.
Detrimental Behaviour: unable to control anger, binge eating, self harming, abusive relationship, excessive alcohol or drugs.
Many of our problems arise just because we are human.
When something goes wrong, it is usually because we are pushing ourselves too hard; because we are in a muddle for reasons we don’t fully understand or because we are suffering from some form of mental distress which is distorting our view of reality.
Therefore judging clients is not helpful or relevant; you need to be supported in finding your own way out of the problem.
Paradoxically it can be seen as a matter of strength to ask for counselling.
Need or asking for support is a normal part of this process. It is not a failure rather an action-plan of a rational thinking mind to ask for help and support; to get back to track again.
We all make mistakes and learn from them. It is normal to make several attempts before we get something right.
A failure is only a failure. Don’t impose upon yourself the burden that you have to succeed entirely on our own.
Many people think that they are being strong in not seeking help, whereas, those who can admit to their difficulties are considered the strong-ones. Asking for counselling often means you have taken the first positive step on the road to resolving the problem.
Counsellors work on a strict Code of Ethics which means they must inform you of the limits of confidentiality and then stick to these rules. Everything you say is kept confidential to the counselling-service unless there is clear evidence that the client needs external support to facilitate the therapy. Generally clients of counselling-services find the level of confidentiality more than adequate.
When the counsellor speaks to others, it is usually because the client wishes them to know. Hence, disclosures made against the client’s wishes are extremely rare.
However, if you are concerned about the implications of any breach of confidentiality you may:- speak to a counsellor in general terms in order to see how their Code of Ethics may apply to your particular situation.
It is appropriate to ask at your first contact with the concerned Counselling- Services about the accommodation of your preference.
Counselling is an integral part of psychiatry, where both deal with emotional and mental processes. Counsellors are not authorized to provide clinical treatment as they are non-medical professionals. Counsellors only work by talking and encouraging you to find your own solutions..
Whereas, Psychiatrists are trained doctors, who work largely through diagnosis of illness and then prescribe a treatment – usually involving medication.
Counsellors can however recognize the symptoms of severe mental distress, and may suggest you medical help if it is appropriate.
Counselling sessions vary from person to person, depending upon individual requirement.
Every individual has a unique personality and different perception towards life’s philosophy and immediate environment. Hence, there are no set patterns for counselling sessions. Yet, one may require three sessions or more, depending upon the complexity of the issue(s).