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Why is counselling important?

Here are many reasons why counselling is a great option for helping you get through difficult situations. It can be so helpful to talk to someone who is not a close friend or family. There is sometimes fear of being judged or of people simply not understanding what you are going through, so having someone to open up to, someone who you are not emotionally responsible for, can be an incredibly helpful tool.

There is no shame in reaching out to a counsellor for some additional support. In fact, you will learn the power of talking about your feelings, you will explore new techniques to help you maintain control of your emotions, and you will get relief from issues while gaining a greater understanding of yourself.

The stigma of therapy

Making the choice to see a counsellor is not easy, there is still so much stigma attached the decision. Many people believe that accessing counselling is a sign of weakness, only for people with serious mental health issues, or that talking about problems couldn’t possibly make them go away. None of this could be further from the truth!

Counselling is a wonderful tool, to be used by anyone, as a way to make sense of difficult, complicated or ambiguous circumstances. It can also be used as a form of ongoing self-care, and many people use therapy as a form of mental health maintenance. Prioritising your mental health is as important as taking care of your physical health, it requires ongoing attention and should not ever be neglected.

Know More About Counselling

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. It might cause you to sweat, feel restless and tense, and have a rapid heartbeat. It can be a normal reaction to stress. For example, you might feel anxious when faced with a difficult problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision.

Depression (also known as major depression, major depressive disorder, or clinical depression) is a common but serious mood disorder. It causes severe symptoms that affect how a person feels, thinks, and handles daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working.To be diagnosed with depression, the symptoms must be present for at least 2 weeks.There are different types of depression, some of which develop due to specific circumstances.

It simply means Something in the relationship is breaking or not right and needs some help or attention from both people to fix it. Everybody has problems in relationships. Some are little problems and some can be big. Some problems can be fixed and some sadly can’t.

Parent counselling is a service that aims to provide you with knowledge, guidance, tools, and emotional support, all without judgment or bias. Different from family counselling which has its own set of benefits, parent counselling focuses on how you as the parent affect the dynamics of your family.

Family therapy is a form of talk therapy that focuses on the improvement of relationships among family members. It can also help treat specific mental health or behavioural conditions, such as substance use disorder or oppositional defiant disorder. Family therapy can involve any combination of family members.

Career guidance is the guidance given to individuals to help them acquire the knowledge, information, skills, and experience necessary to identify career options, and narrow them down to make one career decision. This career decision then results in their social, financial and emotional well-being throughout.

Mental health service that is provided through online mediums such as mobile apps, video conferences, text messages, email, or any platform where a conversation can occur virtually.

IQ, short for intelligence quotient, is a measure of a person’s reasoning ability. In short, it is supposed to gauge how well someone can use information and logic to answer questions or make predictions. IQ tests begin to assess this by measuring short- and long-term memory

Group therapy is a form of psychotherapy that involves one or more therapists working with several people at the same time. This type of therapy is widely available at a variety of locations including private therapeutic practices, hospitals, mental health clinics, and community centers.

With offline counselling, intangible details like empathy and non-verbal communication (body language) are palpably felt whereas that can be a little challenging for the client to feel and for the therapist to notice- given the limited visuals a screen can offer.

Individual therapy refers to one-on-one mental health treatment that is personalized to suit an individual’s unique needs. It involves setting therapeutic goals, processes one’s past, and learning how to manage one’s symptoms or triggers in order to live a healthier life.

The harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury.

Feeling a loss of interest can make it harder to do the things you need to do each day. It can leave you feeling listless, disinterested, and unmotivated to do much of anything at all.

Stress management refers to a variety of skills and techniques that are used to deal with stress. Stress management is used to reduce the negative impacts caused by stress and to improve a person’s physical and mental well-being.

Corporate counselling is like a health care program for the employees. It helps bring solutions to the psychological health problems of the employees. Employees build a mindset and learn to solve their problems through it. Today, workplaces have stressful environments.

Anger management. The goal of anger management is to reduce both your emotional feelings and the physiological arousal that anger causes. You can’t get rid of, or avoid, the things or the people that enrage you, nor can you change them, but you can learn to control your reactions.

An emotional outburst refers to a sudden passionate display of emotion resulting from strong or intense feelings. Experiencing an emotional outburst can be a vulnerable experience, particularly if you’ve kept emotions under wraps and aren’t used to expressing how you feel. Maybe you’ve been piling extra work

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

Personal development is the idea that people constantly strive to improve themselves, whether intellectually or emotionally, whereas professional development is how people continue to improve their professional skills to benefit their careers.

Grief counselling is a type of professional therapy designed to help you work through the various stages and range of emotions you may feel after a loss. How you experience grief can vary from person to person.

Counselling can walk you through identifying these negative thought patterns and help replace them with more feel-good thoughts. Counselling can also help you to bring awareness to how anxiety lives in your body and you can learn the tools to use your body as a resource to help reduce anxiety.

Several types of psychotherapy (also called talk therapy or counselling can help people with depression by teaching them new ways of thinking and behaving and helping them change habits that contribute to depression. Evidence-based approaches to treating depression include cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT). Learn more about psychotherapy.
The growth of telehealth for mental health services, which offers an alternative to in-person therapy, has made it easier and more convenient for people to access care in some cases. For people who may have been hesitant to look for mental health care in the past, virtual mental health care might be an easier option.

With the help of the therapist, couples can set the goal for marriage and explore the potential solutions for the problems they have. The therapist not only helps the couple to work on the conflict as a team but also provides space for each partner individually to understand their concerns at an individual level. During relationship / couples therapy, the therapist will try to help the couple express the emotions and thoughts that they may be afraid of showing to their partner. In doing this, the couple may be able to become closer again.

Parenting counselling offers modalities or therapies that help parents gain a better understanding of their parenting style, face and eventually conquer their personal issues, and even restore the family, bringing back harmony and peace in the household.

10 reasons that counselling might be for you!

Anxiety is a growing issue; the pressures of life seem to be ever growing and it can sometimes feel quite overwhelming. Some people find themselves suddenly overwhelmed with worry, even if they have never experienced it before or it can build up over time. Even people who are predisposed to worry, can find that it feels a bit different than before, and might need to seek support when they’ve always been able to manage in the past.

If managing your worries or fears begins to take up quite a lot of energy, interferes with everyday tasks, makes it difficult for you to leave your house, or if you find it difficult to participate in things you normally find enjoyable then counselling might be for you. We will explore your worries, break that cycle of fear, and you will learn new techniques that will help you manage these feelings going forward.

If you are feeling particularly anxious about your health or about the health of others, and find it impacts your life in a negative way, then counselling can help you find the root cause of your fears.  

Family problems and communication issues are a very common reason to come to counselling. We can explore issues relating to a single event or repeating patterns of behaviour that affect your family relationships over time. You can come on your own, with a partner, with another family member, or we can even arrange group sessions. Family issues is a broad term for many things, such as family breakdown, separation, blending families, sexual dysfunction, historical abuse, addiction, or difficult communication with children. It also includes working through difficult situations that may have happened in childhood, or that relate to difficult parental or family relationships from the past.

This can also include counselling for children and young people, who might be struggling as a result of any of the issues mentioned above or are experiencing stress or anxiety in their lives due to school, peer problems, or bullying.

Counselling is an excellent opportunity to learn how to reorder the negative self-talk that keeps someone from living as the best possible version of themselves. We can examine the situations, relationships, or individual characteristics that contribute to your negative self-image and learn different techniques to help you think in a more positive light.

If an individual or couple are struggling to conceive, having repeated miscarriages, or undergoing fertility treatment, then counselling will certainly help them work through those difficult emotions. This can include things such as IVF, ICSI, IUI, vaginismus, endometriosis, and PCOS. Fertility counselling is also useful for same sex couples you need a place to explore the different options available to them and to help them explore their feelings and experience of family planning.
If you are being treated by a clinic and would like to source your own independent implications report for the use of donor gametes, then the session with me also includes the report which will satisfy the statutory requirements for you clinic.
** fertility counselling requires additional training, so please have a look for BICA approved counsellors for this type of work **

Depression is something that can range from mild, to completely debilitating. It can affect your mood, cause lack of interest in the things you normally enjoy, low energy, low self-worth, and can disrupt your ability to concentrate and even sleep. Some people might only feel depressed for a single short time in their life, for others it can last months or even years. Counselling can help you look at the root cause of your feelings and help you find the light at the end of the tunnel.

Unfortunately, bereavement is a natural part of life, that we will all have to face at some point in our lives. Whether it is the sad loss of a partner, parent, child, friend, pet, or acquaintance, the experience of grief can be very overwhelming. Counselling will give you the opportunity to express your grief in a constructive way, in a place free from judgement, where you can explore your loss, understand how it is affecting your life, and eventually come to a place of acceptance. There is something very helpful about talking about your loss with someone outside of the situation who can help you unravel the chaos that follows many losses.

Trauma is the psychological damage that occurs as a result of a singular event, such as a sexual assault or road traffic accident, or as a result of repeated exposure to a traumatic situation such as long-term abuse, or war. There are different types of traumas from Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), which affects someone for a short period of time, to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or complex PTSD, which can last for months or years. It can cause many problems, from disrupted sleep patterns, nightmares, nausea, to full blown panic attacks, addiction, and suicidal thoughts. Counselling can help you process the emotions that the trauma has left you with, will help you stabilize these feelings, and can help you to a place where you are no longer being led by the pain you have experienced.

** it is important to make sure your counsellor is trauma informed **

Counselling can be useful to make sense of any situation that is causing significant change to everyday life. This can be anything from moving cities or countries, getting married or divorced, having children or watching your children grow and move out. It is also important to remember that any significant change can be difficult to manage, even good changes because they all require a certain level of psychological flexibility.

If you are newly diagnosed or were diagnosed many moons ago, counselling can help you develop excellent self-awareness and the strong mindset it takes to help you live well with an illness. You do not have to be defined by your illness and counselling can explore proactive ways to manage the stresses that day to day health management may cause and can help you gain a more positive and embodied outlook to your situation.
This type of counselling is useful for both patients or family and friends who might find it difficult to come to terms with a chronic illness.

For people with life limiting illness or in palliative care, counselling can help patients face any fears regarding death, can help maintain hope, make amends, and can assist in exploring their feelings in a way that encourages emotional and spiritual preparedness for death.
This type of counselling is useful for the patients or for family and friends who might find it difficult to live with the terminal diagnosis of a loved one.
** it might be useful to find a counsellor with palliative experience **

Reason to visit a counsellor

Many people visit a counsellor over the course of their life and there is a wide range of reasons people seek counselling. It wasn’t long ago that counselling was viewed as something that should be kept secret, but thankfully, times have changed. You do not need a “big” reason to go to counselling–it can often make a good life even better!

Mental health is something one should manage before it becomes a crisis. Wellness is the cornerstone of professional counselling. From a wellness perspective, counsellors focus on prevention and help clients develop goals to work towards their optimal physical and mental health prior to the onset of problems. Everyone is different, and we all have unique circumstances and problems. Yet, each area of an individual’s life inevitably affects other areas. Counsellors are trained to develop treatment plans that recognize the interplay/interconnectedness of the different components that compose the well-being of our clients’ lives.

If you have never gone to speak with a counsellor, you may wonder what a person gets out of talking once a week to a near stranger about their struggles in life.

Plenty, it turns out.

The reasons people seek counselling are as varied as people themselves. Thus, the first question I ask a new client in our intake session is, “What is bringing you to counselling and why have you decided now is the right time?” I am curious as to the ratione behind why a person has decided to start counselling because it is often something clients will share, they contemplated for a long time before following through on.

It is also an open question which helps me to get real, elaborate, and intimate answers. You can never predict where the answer to this question will take a session. Yet often the presenting problem is not the problem the client is really looking to work on.

There are some common threads that bring people to seek out counselling.

Below are the top reasons people decide now is the time to get into treatment.

We all want to be confident–nothing can make or break your ability to create the life you want as your self-esteem. There are clear links between the way we feel about ourselves and our overall mental and emotional well-being. It is also very intricately linked to how you see the world. Counsellors help you recognize your full potential, work on communication skills, and find motivation. For many, speaking with a therapist can help them see their problems more clearly and take action.

Relationships can have a significant impact on how you feel. This includes your relationships with family members, colleagues, friends, and romantic partners. It is not uncommon to seek help with a relationship that has become a source of anxiety ad distress. A counsellor is able to listen objectively and are a neutral third party. They can help you better understand and nurture the relationships that are important to you.

Finding and creating a great relationship is a life goal many amongst us have. Whether it is improving the relationship one is in or finding a healthy partner, relationship concerns often drive people to counselling. Counsellors will work with clients to understand why things have gone wrong and how problems can be overcome. Many counsellors work with families and couples.

Having a career, one loves or improving your current job situation is a pressing life problem for many. It can be especially challenging to find a new orientation for your career. Sometimes people are thinking about quitting their job and starting their own business, others want to find more satisfaction in their current occupation. We spend a lot of our time at work and our relationship with our job can greatly impact of our mood and day to day functioning.

Many people seek out counselling with the vague goal of “being” happier. The goal of therapy is to help you live a more fulfilled, functional, and happier life by helping you deal with your thoughts, emotions, and the daily stresses of life. Often over the course of treatment, clients often discover that happiness in and of itself is not the goal but comes as a by-product of something else in life.

A negative mindset cannot create a positive life. Yet many struggle to limit their negative self-talk. Getting aware of your negative thought patterns and reframing them is a key to getting the negativity out of your life. Awareness is the first important step. The second step in identifying, reframing, and implementing change. CBT is commonly utilized to achieve this goal.

It is quite common for a client to report feeling restless or dissatisfied with their life. Often people can’t put their finger on why as on paper their life seems to be going well. Many clients are looking to develop peace of mind and live at harmony with themselves and the world around them. This can be achieved by working on one’s inner psychology.

Many people feel their life lacks passion–whether it is their relationship, professional life, or their day-to-day experience in general. Many come to counselling to tap into the passion that may have long escaped their life.

One’s mental focus is important to being successful in life. Where your focus your attention, one’s time and energy go. Being able to concentrate and effectively use one’s mental focus, is a key skill that can really improve your overall life. When people are struggling emotionally, they often report struggling to focus.

Counselling is an effective way for people with mental health problems and to work through their symptoms in a supportive environment. Many come to therapy because they feel depressed often described as the “common cold” of mental health issues. Yet whether it is an anxiety disorder or mood disorder, many emotional issues can be alleviated through talk therapy.

People who are in periods of transitions or are facing down a pivotal decision, can benefit from counselling. Common transitions include adjusting to adulthood, starting a new career, marriage, becoming a parent, divorce, death of a loved one, retirement, etc. Some people benefit from the unbiased feedback that a counsellor can provide. I often remind clients that in your personal life, people have opinions of what you should be doing, often a vested interest in what you decide/how it impacts them. Your counsellor does not.

As Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Counselling is a good opportunity to reflect on past experiences and explore feelings and values. Having the insight to understand what makes us who we are; why we respond the way we do; what excites us and drives our passion; and what challenges us and produces negative thoughts. Self-awareness is the basis for doing well life well.

Many people feel those around them do not understand them. Sometimes they feel alone. It is normal to be different and it is worth exploring. We all experience the world through our own eyes, and from our own perspective-this is why two people can witness the same event and have vastly different recollections of it. Naturally, this makes it difficult for us to step outside of ourselves, and realize that everyone also experiences their world through their own unique lens. Yet connection is important and the feeling that we “fit in” are basic human needs. A counsellor can help you celebrate both our differences and embrace our commonalities.

It is important to remember that talking to a counsellor is not the same as talking to a friend. Counsellors are trained to be careful and unbiased listeners. Therapists guide people through some of the most personal and painful experiences of their lives. When appropriate, your therapist may challenge you to recognize thought and relationship patterns that aren’t helping you move forward.

It is important to realize that counselling and mental health treatment is a healthy action for everybody. Whatever the reason is for seeking it out, clients will find a safe and confidential environment with a supportive individual who will listen to them non-judgementally and strive to understand thoughts and feelings from a client’s point of view. Clients come from all walks of life; a little counselling can help everybody to improve their everyday lives

 

Talk therapy, also called psychotherapy, is the process by which a person attends sessions with a therapist to talk through their experiences. Types of talking therapy include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), behavioural therapy, and more.

In talk therapy, a psychologist will discuss previous traumas and psychiatric conditions with a person in order to treat, evaluate, and diagnose various mental health conditions. The psychologist will help people resolve and process issues verbally. They may also help individuals forge a path forward through disorders that have interfered with daily activities.

Keep reading to learn more about talk therapy, including how it works, the various conditions it may benefit, and how a person could choose a type of therapy that may work best for them.