Counselling
What is counselling?
Counselling is a process where you look at your patterns of behaviour or ways of thinking and feeling. Some of your ways of dealing with your internal processes (eg thoughts and feelings) will work well for you. You will be able to navigate through your life without any stress. However, other patterns you have developed will undermine or limit you, both in relationship to yourself and to others. Some specific external events will be much more challenging and your ability to manage them may feel compromised. If we use the metaphor of a house alarm system, your unique system may be wired up to detect leaves falling but ignores the burglar. This will be because at some point in your life history, falling leaves were actually threatening. We now need to re-set the alarm system to experience falling leaves as non-problematic. It will then have capacity to deal with any burglars and your responses will be more appropriately attuned to experiences. Counselling will increase your self awareness of these habits, both positive and negative. As we explore, you will become aware of habits which you haven’t seen before, especially things which might be holding you back. When your individual patterns are identified, they can be reassessed, challenged or changed. This process allows a newer 'you' to emerge, so that your needs are better met and your life is richer and fuller.
How can counselling help me?
Counselling can give relief not just to your negative, current feelings or states but also it relieves the stress of not knowing what to do about them. As you start to understand yourself better, you will understand why you feel as you do. A new way of looking at yourself emerges. You may find strengths you didn’t know you had or a resource which you hadn’t considered before. Looking within is not always an easy journey but you are not alone in this. We will explore it together at a speed and depth which feels right for you. We will also work confidentially in a space which is empathic and respectful. All of us feel anxious or overwhelmed at times in our lives, sometimes at a loss to know how to manage these feelings and events. When we’re able to share this with another and put it into the space between us, it somehow loosens its grip on us and we can tackle it differently. It’s a strange thing but I’ve seen it work many, many times. Take heart!
You may want to look at some of these issues
- stress
- depression
- anxiety
- panic attacks
- low self esteem
- anger
- relationship difficulties
- spiritual concerns
- bereavement
- sexual/emotional/physical abuse
How long will it take?
You may find that you only need three or four sessions or you may want to work for a longer period of time. Whatever you decide, our work together will aim to support changes you want to make so that you are able to manage better the challenges that life brings.
What happens next?
First I would like to talk to you briefly on the phone to arrange a mutually convenient time for the first session. In this no obligation session, you will be checking me out to ascertain whether we can work together and whether l am the right person for you. This session will take one hour and, from it, we’ll decide how many more sessions to book or whether to keep the work open ended. There is no commitment expected from you at this first session as its purpose is primarily to give you an idea of what counselling is like with me and whether you think it will help you. Please click here for a link to my email contact form.
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