First and foremost, research shows that 4 out of 5 people find Counselling and Psychotherapy highly effective, in helping them to overcome their difficulties, and lead happier and more satisfying lives.
In addition to this, coming for Counselling is a wise choice as it can be difficult to find the right sort of help and support when you most need it.
You may have already tried different ways of helping yourself, with varying degrees of success. Alternatively, you may have turned to friends or family for assistance.
However, it can be difficult for people who are close to you to be detached and impartial.
Worse still, they may discount or minimise your thoughts and feelings, turn the conversation around to themselves and their problems, offer you unsolicited advice on what you should do, try to fix you, just not take you seriously, or break your confidence.
Furthermore, it can sometimes be hard or impossible to talk to others about certain problems about which you may feel embarrassed, ashamed or guilty, and which you may wish to keep private.
That’s what makes talking to a Counsellor different.
Counselling gives you the opportunity, time and space to talk freely and tell your story. It also gives you a private, safe and confidential setting in which to express yourself, free from interruptions.
Approximately 30% of change experienced in Counselling is down to the therapeutic relationship between client and counsellor.
So the relationship between us is important.
Being trained and skilled in providing the optimum conditions for effective therapeutic relationships, I will attempt to:
- Warmly accept you as you are without judgement or criticism
- Understand and empathise with you as fully as possible
- Listen to you attentively and patiently while you explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviour
- Value what you say, think and feel
- Relate to you in an honest and genuine manner
- Respond to you with compassion
- Work on and talk about what you want to work on and talk about
- Use a flexible and personalised approach in working with you
- Trust you to come up with your own solutions
I firmly believe that you are the expert in your own life. You have an innate ability to grow and develop, even if, at this time in your life, that may have become blocked.
I know that might be hard to believe at this moment in time, especially if you are not feeling too great about yourself and your life.
But Counselling can help you to overcome your difficulties, to grow and develop, and move forward.
Our counselling relationship will be very much a collaborative or two-way process, where we both have a part to play.
My job does not involve telling you what to do, giving you advice or fixing you. You are in control of any changes you wish to make.
Research has found that approximately 40% of change experienced in Counselling and therapy is down to the client’s own resources and efforts.
In other words, Counselling works, if you work at it!
I will, nevertheless, support and guide you to find your own unique solutions to your problems.
Of course, exactly how you benefit will be unique to you.
