Counselling is a talking therapy. It is a confidential and non-judgemental space where you can talk about your thoughts, feelings and problems with a trained therapist. People use counselling in different ways and so counselling is usually flexible and adapted to suit your individual needs. Counselling can be long term (usually 20 or more sessions, sometimes over several years), or short term (often 6 to 12 weeks).
A counsellor will not tell you what to do, but they will help you to talk about your issues and work with you to explore your thoughts, feelings and experiences. Different counsellors will do this in different ways so it is important to find a counsellor that you click with.
Visit “finding the right counsellor” to read about some of the things to consider when you are looking for a counsellor.
What can counselling help with?
People go to counselling for many reasons, often because they want to change something in their lives. Perhaps they want to find ways to cope, change patterns in relationships or explore what they want from their life. Sometimes people don’t know exactly what they want from counselling, they just want to feel better. Some of the issues that counselling can help with are:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Addiction
- Abuse
- Stress
- Mental ill health
- Trauma
- Relationship problems
- Obsessions / compulsions and/or OCD
- Self harm
- Self esteem
- Suicidal thoughts and feelings
- Bullying
- Bereavement
- Illness
- Loneliness
- Eating disorders
Counselling Directory is a useful website that explains further some of the different issues people may seek counselling for. It also explains the different types of counselling available and provides a directory of qualified counsellors.
I offer a free initial meeting to talk about what you want from counselling and the way I work. This can help us decide whether we can work together. Contact me to book an appointment.
Louise Allen - Fern Counselling 