A huge factor in the success of counselling is the quality of your relationship with your counsellor. Thus, you should feel safe, respected, understood and gradually more open to trusting the counselling process. In counselling, we call this “rapport building”.
Counselling is confidential and safe. Confidentiality means that whatever you share with your counsellor stays in the room. This may help you open up and explore your challenges without judgement or fear that the content of your session will be shared elsewhere.
The most commonly known counselling format is a series of weekly 50 – or 60 min long sessions. However, some counsellors offer fortnightly, monthly or one-off sessions too. You can ask for one session, a few sessions or ongoing counselling. Some counselling modalities, such as walking or couples therapy, may require longer, 1.5 hrs long sessions. Group therapy can also consist of longer sessions.