Frequently asked questions.

 

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• WHAT IS PSYCHOTHERAPY AND COUNSELLING?
• ISN’T IT THE SAME AS TALKING TO A FRIEND?
• WILL MY THERAPIST TELL ME WHAT TO DO?
• HOW WILL I CHANGE?
• WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PSYCHOTHERAPY AND COUNSELLING?
• WHAT IS CBT AND DO YOU OFFER IT?
• HOW DOES COUPLES COUNSELLING WORK?

 

WHAT IS IT?  

Psychotherapy and counselling offer  an approach to emotional wellbeing that gives you the chance to explore yourself in relationship to another person, the therapist, which over time promotes understanding and self acceptance.  From this will emerge different choices about ways in which to live your life.

 

 

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ISN’T IT THE SAME AS TALKING TO A FRIEND?    

No, it is very different.  You will be given the opportunity to talk about your difficulty in a confidential setting within a trusting, accepting relationship.  Over time you may feel safe enough to explore your pain, despair, frustration or confusion in a way which may not be possible with friends.  Out of this may come a deeper sense of yourself and an opportunity for growth.

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WILL MY THERAPIST TELL ME WHAT TO DO?   

No, although she may encourage you to explore your options and find your inner resources to make your own decisions.

 

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HOW WILL I CHANGE?  

This is different for everyone and there is no easy answer.  However, I follow the philosophy that you need only to be encouraged to explore every aspect of yourself for change to take place.

 

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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PSYCHOTHERAPY AND COUNSELLING?

Generally speaking, counselling is the term used for a short-term therapy of between 6-10 sessions where a specific, current issue is addressed and worked through.  Psychotherapy provides a longer-term and deeper therapy for issues that have been around for a long time.  This approach, which might last for a period of months or years, looks at how the patterns of relationship from the past have a part to play in relationships in the present.  A psychotherapist is able to help a client with deeper work because of the amount of training, personal therapy and supervised practice he or she has undertaken.

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What is CBT and do you offer it?

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) has a high profile at the moment and you may have heard it mentioned in the media, you may know someone who has tried it, or your GP may have recommended it.

It is an approach to therapy that was first designed by a psychiatrist called Aaron Temkin Beck in the late 1970’s.  CBT helps clients understand how their uncomfortable feelings link with a series of often unconscious negative automatic thoughts which, with understanding, may be challenged and altered to bring about different feelings altogether and change behaviour.  

CBT is quite an active therapy in as much as the client undertakes homework and will be given charts to complete.  It is a time-limited therapy and the work will often be carried out in a matter of months.

While I do not offer CBT as a stand-alone therapy, I studied it in my core training and now find it a useful approach to draw on when working with anxiety, panic attacks, stage fright, loss of confidence and trauma and will use it as part of my integrative approach when I feel my clients might find it helpful.

 

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How does Couples Counselling work?

Couples counselling has a very different feel to individual counselling or psychotherapy.  It is generally a short-term therapy which might last for only 6 - 10 weeks in which the focus is on the couple as a unit, rather than each individual.

Couples counselling offers two people in a relationship a safe place in which to explore their difficulties and find hope that through a deeper understanding of each other they may discover different ways to behave and communicate.

Couples counselling encourages the couple to work independently of the therapist between sessions and the therapist will agree homework tasks with the partners to facilitate this.

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Don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like to find out more