Therapy
Counselling and Psychotherapy
Counselling is the name given to the process of sorting out feelings that you experience, that you either want to change, get in touch with, or explore. Coming to therapy you will be supported to do this in a safe environment.
The focus of the work will be to support you to become more accepting of yourself. The therapist will do this by encouraging you to explore the emotions that you are struggling with in the present moment i.e. what is happening today/now. It is important to recognise where feelings and emotions are coming from, explore them and talk about them. This usually means talking about past events. Though the focus is likely to be on how those past events impact on you presently. Most clients want to create change in their lives so that they can better understand who they are and leave behind negative experiences that have being bothering them. You will be supported to do this by being encouraged to work through these issues, feelings and experiences and then if appropriate let go of them.
It may be important to talk about past experiences particularly if you have being keeping what has been troubling you ‘secret’ though you don’t have to. Addressing the feelings that you are currently experiencing is likely to be more important.
The difference between counselling and psychotherapy is that counselling usually focuses on a specific issue that you want to address. This may for example be dealing with a bereavement, an illness, relationship difficulty, coming to terms with you identity etc. Counselling is more likely to be time limited though could continue for 6 or 9 months. Psychotherapy is more focused on self development, you may not be coming with one specific issue or problem. You are more likely to be attending weekly sessions for 12 or 18 months or longer.
Whether you would like to have counselling or psychotherapy your therapist will work with you as a whole person and so everything is important and you are welcome to talk about whatever you feel is important. The therapist will keep you on track and hold the many different strands of what you bring to the sessions.
Most people that come to counselling and psychotherapy want to make some changes in their lives and this is often the focus of the work. We work with change from a specific model/ theory about how change can take place. If you would like to read more about this please click on this link.