Counselling
Counselling is a process where you are heard in a confidential, non judgemental way by the counsellor; where the counsellor acts as a sounding board to reflect back in an empathic manner what you are saying from your point of view. This will allow you to ‘see’ a bigger picture of your problem and you can discuss and explore your feelings in a safe place, look at options and think through potential outcomes. You are then able to understand more clearly what you need from life and the choices you make are yours alone.
You may feel uneasy about your first session; this is quite understandable as you will be talking to an unknown person about personal issues. Remember that the counsellor has been trained and works in an ethical way to help build your trust. The counsellor will ask questions to get a clearer understanding of your situation and at the end of the first session you will have the opportunity to talk about your counselling experience. You are then able to decide if you wish to continue with more sessions.
A session is up to one hour and can be arranged to suit your needs. A client can be seen just once or up to many sessions depending on issues. An average number of sessions are usually four to six.
For more information on counselling and ethics click on the link below, which will take you to the official site of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.