Counselling / Psychotherapy
Counselling and Psychotherapy are two terms used to describe the talking therapies. Counselling is the term used when a client contracts for a small number of sessions usually up to 10 sessions whereas Psychotherapy is the term used to describe the process of a much longer contract.
I will use the term counselling here for both therapies.
Counselling takes place when a counsellor (or psychotherapist) meets with someone (usually called a client) in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty in the client's personal or working life. Counselling is always at the request of the client. No one can properly be 'sent' for counselling.
Counselling is a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion.
Counselling can provide an opportunity to talk about your feelings in a secure and private place with someone who is trained to listen and reflect on what is being said. It can lead to greater self-knowledge and enable the client to become aware of new choices and ways to resolve problems as well as improve relationships with others. Iy may be done face-to-face, by telephone or as an online therapy.
You may be encouraged to experiment with new ways of being, thinking and doing things at home in-between your counselling sessions.
Not everyone who comes for counselling is in a crisis. Those who come for counselling are ordinary people. Having counselling does not mean you are mentally ill. Sometimes people simply want to be more powerful, to have a deeper sense of self, to feel more confident, more competent, more in charge with their own life. Some people want to focus on a particular problem, while others want to resolve deeper underlying problems. Some people simply want to explore how they feel about their life.
The aim of counselling is to help the client make sense of what is happening in their lives and to assist and support them in working through their difficulties. Please also look at Counselling for Depression.
All sessions last for around 50 minutes from the appointment time and are held in the strictest confidence, except in the following instances:
- Where you give me consent to break confidence i.e. to your GP.
- Where I believe there is serious danger of you harming yourself or anyone else.
- In cases of abuse to children where I am legally obliged to inform the statutory authorities.
- When ordered to do so by a court of law, or when questioned by a police officer as part of a criminal investigation
If at any point you have any questions on counselling and psychotherapy, do ask me and I will do my best to answer them for you.