Why Counselling and How I Work
Why Counselling?
We will all, inevitably, at some point in our lives experience situations and emotions that we cannot make sense of. We may experience a whole host of feelings, which may include feeling lost, alone and confused, depressed and anxious, stressed, angry and frustrated or even fearful and terrified.
Not knowing what to do or how to respond to such emotions and situations often makes us feel helpless and stuck.
How can we make sense of something we cannot understand?
How can we move forward when we have lost any sense of purpose and meaning?
Counselling and Psychotherapy, often described as 'talking therapies', aim to assist people in times of such distress.
My Approach to Counselling and Psychotherapy
When we talk about the approach to counselling what we mean is the style of counselling that is used. There are many theories and approaches to counselling and each counsellor would have trained in a particular orientation.
My approach is influenced very much by the existential perspective. This means that my focus is on self-awareness, understanding the choices we make, making sense of and coming to terms with the struggles in life, becoming responsibile for our own lives, clarifying our goals and working in the 'here and now'. To illustrate how I work and what to expect, I have listed below some examples of the aims of counselling:
- It offers a safe and reflective space for us to begin to make sense of the chaos and worry that we find ourselves in.
- It enables us to explore, in depth, what is troubling us and discover what the underlying issues may be.
- It encourages us to take an honest look at our current thoughts, feelings and behaviours that may be preventing us from moving forward.
- It helps us to find ways of changing these overwhelming emotions in a way that will take us to a safer and more secure place, where we all want to be.
- It is a chance for us to understand and learn about ourselves so that we can take control of and responsibility for our lives. In doing so, we find purpose and meaning again in a way that compliments our true selves.
Using the skills, training and experience I have gained over the years, I enable the client to work through this process in a respectful, supportive and impartial manner.
If you have more questions or feel a little anxious about what to expect in counselling then please contact me and I will be happy to discuss this in more detail.
