What is counselling?
All of us feel worried or depressed now and again, and most of us have known times when we find it hard to know where to turn. When we look back on these periods it’s usually easier to see that they might be a normal, if painful part of life. However many of us don’t like to “burden someone else with our problems” – to ask for help does take courage. Friends can be supportive in difficult times, but they may have problems of their own, or we may feel unable to share really intimate problems with them.
If you are having difficulties in your personal life, then counselling will give you an opportunity to explore these issues with someone who is trained to help you, and to support you through a bad patch. You can be helped to understand more about yourself and what you are feeling and experiencing, in a safe and confidential environment. A counsellor can help you to find answers to your own troubles by encouraging you to see the bigger picture, and the process itself provides movement within feelings of being stuck or trapped. From this you may make sense of what is happening, or find ways of coping with things you cannot or do not wish to change. And you don’t need to worry about overburdening the counsellor – their job is to offer help, concentrated time and an impartial view.
You may have experienced a sudden change or crisis in your life, or you may not feel that you can put into perspective the way you are reacting to something – a counsellor can help to show you what is actually happening, and how to regain your balance.
Counselling is a
resource, there to be used when you need support with emotional and personal problems, when you’re going through a sticky patch, a crisis, a period of confusion or depression, or just looking for a way to know yourself better and get more out of life.