Counselling

Sometimes in life we are faced with issues and problems that we find difficult to cope with on our own, or for various reasons we cannot discuss with family or friends. Some emotions can be too complicated or overwhelming. You may be struggling to manage issues arising from recent events or from the past that are unresolved and affect your life now, by causing emotional distress, perhaps leaving you with a sense of being held back or doubting yourself, maybe feeling overwhelmed, anxious or depressed. At this time you may choose to see a counsellor.

There are many different theoretical approaches in counselling, and one approach certainly doesn't suit everyone, just as one individual counsellor doesn't necessary suit everybody. However each approach does share a common aim; that is to listen carefully to what the person says and to understand the problem in a deeper way, which is more than just sympathising and offering advice.

The counsellor should:

• endeavour to understand what it feels like to be in your world
• accept you in a non-judgmental way
• strive to be honest and open with you
• empower you and therefore help you to fully express your thoughts and feelings
• try to enable you to feel in control of your life rather than being at the mercy of overwhelming emotions and oppressive thoughts
• help you to take responsibility for your feelings and actions
• try to help you challenge unhelpful thoughts that cause you distress

Counselling can help by:

• actively listening to you
• allowing difficult feelings to be aired and acknowledged
• enabling you to make changes in your life and the way you feel about it
• enabling you to know yourself better
• enabling you to be kinder to yourself, more accepting of who you are and perhaps to like yourself more
• challenging old ways of thinking