Validation is the key to counselling work. We need to feel validated in a relationship with another human. This, of course, is not always the case in all our relationships, so your counsellor will aim to provide this experience for you.
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.
A trained counsellor will offer a specific approach to counselling. There is a wide range of counselling modalities and ways of working: talking, walking, movement (dance, drama), non-verbal (art, object therapies) and many more.
A trained professional provides counselling, so when you book a counselling session, you should check the counsellor’s professional qualifications, the amount and type of training they have received, and their professional accreditations. On average, a counsellor should have completed a year of a counselling certificate course, two years of a diploma at least, with additional MA courses and relevant CPD courses added to their portfolio. A counsellor can only offer the types of therapy they are trained for.
As we open our counselling practice this month, we invite you to explore what counselling is.
What is counselling? Oxford Dictionaries define counselling as “the provision of professional assistance and guidance in resolving personal or psychological problems”.
It’s no secret that good health is essential to living a happy and fulfilled life. Unfortunately, many of us neglect our health until something goes wrong. We often take our bodies for granted, failing to realize that they’re the most important investment we have.
The definition of ‘good health’ and how to acquire it has changed over time. From the medieval practice of religious prayer and sacrifices to ward off disease to up-to-the-minute brain scans to understand mental health and psychological conditions.
Over many centuries of progression and change, can history actually teach us anything about how to be healthy and happy today? Taking three periods of history, let’s see what the accepted ideas for feeling better were and how we can apply these in modern society.
What conditions do you need to thrive? What makes you feel better than okay? What do you need to grow and enjoy life?