What is counselling or therapy?
Counselling is the skilled and principled use of relationship to facilitate self-knowledge, emotional acceptance and growth and the optimal development of personal resources. The overall aim is to provide an opportunity to work towards living more satisfyingly and resourcefully. Counselling relationships will vary according to need but may be concerned with developmental issues, addressing and resolving specific problems, making decisions, coping with crisis, developing personal insights and knowledge, working through feelings of inner conflict or improving relationships with others. (Quoted from the CCA website)
How often should I come for counselling?
In the beginning, most clients find that coming weekly is helpful to get things started. Some prefer to continue this schedule and others find that coming biweekly or monthly works better for them. It is up to you how many sessions you attend and for how long. As our work together progresses, you will develop a better sense of what schedule works best for you and your needs.
Do I really need counselling? Isn’t that for more serious problems or for people with serious mental health issues?
Counselling or therapy is not just for people with serious or diagnosed mental health issues. People from all walks of life, backgrounds, and professions, and with all kinds of concerns can benefit from counselling at difficult times in life.
It can be hard to ask for help. We often feel like we should be able to figure things out on our own. But sometimes we get overwhelmed and we need the support and perspective that comes from talking things over with another person. Sometimes talking to friends or family is enough. Sometimes we don’t have family or friends to turn to or they don’t seem to know how to help. Sometimes the problems we’re having are about our friends or family.
If you’re unsure, Sue would be happy to provide a complimentary 10 minute telephone consultation to help you determine if and how counselling might help with your current needs/concerns.
How many sessions will I need?
This depends on your goals for therapy and the nature of your concerns. Some clients find that just a few sessions can be enough to experience improvement or make a challenging decision. Other clients find they need regular sessions over a longer period of time to reach their therapeutic goals. When we meet for the first few sessions we will talk about your needs and goals and decide from there what will work best for you. We will reevaluate every few sessions to see how our work together is progressing.
What about privacy and confidentiality?
The information shared in counselling sessions and client files is confidential between client and counsellor. Sue will not share information about you with anyone, unless you give her consent to do so. There are very few exceptions to this, mostly related to safety, and Sue will address these at the beginning of your first session. If you have questions about it before then, please contact Sue and she will be happy to answer them for you.