Counselling

Talking to a family member or friend can help but their connection to us sometimes means that they want to protect us or offer advice when all we need is someone to listen. Talking over your problems with someone who is not closely related or involved can help you gain a clearer perspective and therefore be tremendously helpful in moving forward.

Counselling does not involve giving advice or directing a client to take a course of action. In a counselling session, you can explore many things, feelings, thoughts, and behaviours, in a way that is rarely possible with friends and family. Feelings such as anger, depression, anxiety, panic, fear, grief, and embarrassment, can become very intense and counselling offers an opportunity to explore them, and gain a better understanding.

Speaking to a counsellor, someone who is trained to listen and who can remain objective, allowing you the space and time to explore your issues and feel heard and understood, can be a powerful way of overcoming emotional distress.

Think Therapy provides a safe and confidential relationship for clients to explore their issues. Here at Think Therapy, our counsellors work to a strict code of conduct that is non-judgemental and supportive. Our counsellors are here to listen and help you to gain the clarity and strength you need to live your life to the full.

After therapy

Everyone is different, so it is almost impossible to say how the majority of people feel after they leave therapy. However, over the years we have regularly been given lovely feedback such as:

I know myself better

I feel more hopeful

I have more joy in my life

I feel happier

I have more energy for the things I love to do

My relationships have improved

I feel more at ease in the world

I feel more resilient

What NHS Choices says about Counselling

Counselling is a type of talking therapy that allows a person to talk about their problems and feelings in a confidential and dependable environment.

A counsellor is trained to listen with empathy (by putting themselves in your shoes). They can help you deal with any negative thoughts and feelings you have.

Sometimes the term “counselling” is used to refer to talking therapies in general, but counselling is also a type of therapy in its own right.

Other psychological therapies include psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and relationship therapy, which could be between members of a family, a couple, or work colleagues.

Read more about other psychological therapies.

What is counselling used for?

Talking therapies such as counselling can be used to help with many different mental health conditions, including:

Anxiety

Loneliness

Gender

Anger

Chronic pain

Insomnia

Depression

Trauma

Relationship issues

Eating concerns

Stress

Suicidal thoughts

Grief and Loss

Bereavement

Obsessions

Sexuality

Panic attacks

Paranoia

Addictions

Phobias

Self-esteem

Redundancy

PTSD

OCD

Mood swings

Bullying

Attachment

Divorce

Breakdown

Body dysmorphia 

How counselling can help

Counselling aims to help you deal with and overcome issues that are causing emotional pain or making you feel uncomfortable.

It can provide a safe and regular space for you to talk and explore difficult feelings. The counsellor is there to support you and respect your views. They won’t usually give advice, but will help you find your own insights into and understanding of your problems.

Counselling can help you:

• cope with a bereavement or relationship breakdown
• cope with redundancy or work-related stress
• explore issues such as sexual identity
• deal with issues preventing you achieving your ambitions
• deal with feelings of depression or sadness, and have a more positive outlook on life
• deal with feelings of anxiety, helping you worry less about things
• understand yourself and your problems better
• feel more confident
• develop a better understanding of other people’s points of view

Counselling can often involve talking about difficult or painful feelings and, as you begin to face them, you may feel worse in some ways. However, with the help and support of your therapist, you should gradually start to feel better.

In most cases, it takes a number of sessions before the counselling starts to make a difference, and a regular commitment is required to make the best use of the therapy.

What to expect from counselling

During your counselling sessions, you’ll be encouraged to express your feelings and emotions. By discussing your concerns with you, the counsellor can help you gain a better understanding of your feelings and thought processes, as well as identifying ways of finding your own solutions to problems.

It can be a great relief to share your worries and fears with someone who acknowledges your feelings and is able to help you reach a positive solution.

Counselling can take place:

• face to face
• individually or in a group
• over the phone
• by email
• using a specialised computer programme

You may be offered counselling as a single session, as a short course of sessions over a few weeks or months, or as a longer course that lasts for several months or years.

Trusting your counsellor

A good counsellor will focus on you and listen without judging or criticising you. They may help you find out about how you could deal with your problems, but they shouldn’t tell you what to do.

For counselling to be effective, you need to build a trusting and safe relationship with your counsellor. If you feel that you and your counsellor aren’t getting on, or that you’re not getting the most out of your sessions, you should discuss this with them, or you can look for another counsellor.

If you’re seeing an NHS counsellor attached to your GP surgery, your GP may be able to arrange for you to see another NHS counsellor. Alternatively, you could pay to see a private counsellor. Many counsellors and counselling organisations offer a sliding scale of fees where the more sessions you have, the cheaper it becomes.

Who provides counselling?

As counselling involves talking about sensitive issues and revealing personal thoughts and feelings, your counsellor should be experienced and professionally qualified.

Different healthcare professionals may be trained in counselling or qualified to provide psychological therapies. These include:

• counsellors – trained to provide counselling to help you cope better with your life and any issues you have
• clinical and counselling psychologists – healthcare professionals who specialise in assessing and treating mental health conditions using evidence-based psychological therapies
• psychiatrists – qualified medical doctors who’ve received further training in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions
• psychotherapists – similar to counsellors, but they’ve usually received more extensive training; they’re also often qualified applied psychologists or psychiatrists
• cognitive behavioural psychotherapists – may come from a variety of professional backgrounds and have received training in cognitive behaviour therapy; they should be registered and accredited with the British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP)