Counselling is an umbrella term for talking therapies in which you are provided with a safe and supportive environment to explore problems you are experiencing. The overall aim of counselling is to provide an opportunity for you to work towards living in a more satisfying and resourceful way. You may go to counselling to help with a specific problem, to help resolve conflicts in your life or simply to gain greater confidence. Counselling can also help overcome the feelings of embarrassment and fear of upsetting those you love that can sometimes make it difficult to talk to friends and family. Talking to a trained professional can help you look at problems from a different perspective and equip you with the necessary strategies to work through problems.
Counselling and Psychotherapy can be of great support in times of crisis or change. It involves the providing of professional assistance to people who are experiencing personal issues, in order to help alleviate those difficulties and manage their lives in a healthier way.
Nearly everyone faces challenges and difficulties in their life at some time. But sometimes they can be overwhelming and we feel like we are helpless. Stress over a job, anxiety caused by uncertainty over the future, loss because of bereavement, problems over addiction or difficulties in a relationship, Anger management and low self-esteem are just some of the reasons why people feel they can benefit by talking to a professional Counsellor or Psychotherapist.
The main approaches of Counselling include:
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(CBT)
• Phychodynamic Phychotherapy
• Humanistic
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a amalgamation of two aspects of psychology – Cognitive and Behavioral. It maintains that each of us is a combination of our experiences and environment and this impacts on our belief and value system which impact on how we think, feel and behave in the here and now. CBT is a way to of talking about how you think about yourself, the world and others – and how your actions affect your thoughts and feelings.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
This is a psychotherapy based on the psychodynamic principles that how you behave now is based on past experiences. Psychodynamic practice aims to help you make sense of your existing situation and of the feeling and thoughts and associated memories that are brought about by this situation. This helps the client to gain a deeper understanding of how they relate to themselves and others. Psychodynamic counsellor’s work with ‘transference’ which is the process that occurs in therapy when the client responds to the counsellor as if to a significant other from the client’s past. Transference helps the therapist to learn more about the client’s developmental course from child to adult. Some therapists may also work with Counter transference.
Person Centered humanistic counselling
Person Centred Humanistic counselling is based on the principle that most clients have the potential for growth and self- actualisation. That given the right conditions we are all capable of being loving, caring and knowledgeable
Humanistic therapy evolved in the 1950s and 1960s in the USA as part of a ‘human potential movement’. Carl Rogers postulated core conditions of unconditional positive regard, congruence and empathy which are central to a person-centred approach and are also a backdrop to all our counselling work.
There are different types of counselling, they include:
• Couple Counselling
• Individual Counselling
• Group Counselling
• Pre-marital Counselling
What is couples therapy?
Couple counselling can provide a safe and secure environment for partners to communicate honestly about their needs and learn techniques to help them resolve current conflicts and avoid future ones.
Couple counselling aims to help couples who are stuck in patterns of conflict to find ways to communicate with each other, to decide how to resolve their problems and to achieve their goals
What are the benefits of couple counselling?
• Talk through issues in a safe environment
• Negeociate and Compromise
• Improve communication
• Discover what the problem is and how to move forward
Signs that your relationship is under pressure:
• Lack of communication
• Lack of sex
• Disagreeing and fighting without resolving arguments
• Lack of trust
• Separating is the only option