What is Counselling?

Counselling is sometimes called “therapy” or “talking therapy”. It is a professional relationship between counsellor(s) and client(s). It can help people regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin or religion, with a whole range of difficulties in their lives.

Counselling provides a safe and confidential space for you to talk about yourself, your life and your difficulties with someone you can trust to listen to you. You may wish to talk about emotional, psychological or social difficulties you are having. As a trained counsellor, I can help you work through the difficulties you are having with understanding and compassion, bringing fresh insight, additional perspectives and appropriate tools to help you manage your life and relationships in more effective and beneficial ways. Through this, you can find support to work through the issues which are causing you distress and/or preventing you from living life to the full.

How Can Counselling Help Me?

Counselling may be able to help you with a wide variety of issues including abuse, anxiety, stress, depression, disordered eating, loneliness, relationship problems, bereavement, self-esteem, and many more. I have experience working with many different issues. If you’re struggling with something not listed here, please get in touch to ask whether I can help you.

In counselling, I can offer you a safe space to open up about things that may be difficult to talk about. Together we can work through your problems, difficulties and worries and find ways forward.

Finding the Right Counsellor

You may find that you do not “click” with a certain counsellor or therapist. Counsellors all have different personalities and unique approaches in counselling. You may find some counsellors or modalities of counselling (theories and tools used) more helpful than others. You don’t need a counsellor who is exactly the same as you, or has had the same experiences or difficulties as you, but it is important that you find a counsellor you feel comfortable with and who you feel understands you.

This is one of the reasons I offer a free 15-minute phone call and/or a lower cost initial session with no obligation (more info at First Steps – BCS Counselling). These can help us both get a sense of how we might be able to work together. I hope that we will be a good fit, but if for any reason we aren’t, I may be able to suggest other counsellors you could contact.