What is Counselling?
Counselling & Psychotherapy can be described as a conversation between a trained therapist and one or more clients where the aim for the client is to better understand his or her issues and available choices. People seek therapy for many different reasons. For example, many come to our counsellor at the Westoe Practice, South Shields for support or assistance in dealing with personal dilemmas, problems and crises.
How can it Help?
Our Counsellor at the Westoe Practice, South Shields will encourage you to deepen your understanding of your way of living and to help you reflect on and consider the impact your values and meanings have in your life. In doing this, you are likely to think about past, present and future perspectives of your life. Working alongside our counsellor you will examine how to open up your possibilities even when you are experiencing difficulties and conflicts, so that eventually you can live a more fulfilling life.
As a psychotherapist, our Counsellor will meet with clients at the Westoe Practice, South Shields at an agreed time every week for fifty minutes. Counselling & Psychotherapy can be both long and short-term.
A Typical Session
A Counselling session at the Westoe Practice, South Shields will take approximately 50 minutes. During the first session the Counsellor will listen to your concerns and worries as well as ask some questions to establish the situation and relevant psychological factors.
The therapist will put you at ease so you feel comfortable discussing your concerns. Everything you discuss with your counsellor is confidential, and will not be disclosed without your written consent. Your counsellor has an ethical responsibility to maintain confidentiality.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the difference between Counselling and Psychotherapy?
A: Counselling and psychotherapy are similar in many ways. Basically, counselling helps you to manage crises in life using skills you already have whereas psychotherapy seeks to resolve more deeply rooted problems, ones that seem to have become embedded in our personality. Psychotherapy may take place over a longer period of time.
Q: Is now the right time for me to do this?
A: You may feel now is time for a change or you may feel pushed by circumstances and realise you have to change. Feeling like your current way of dealing with things is no longer working is often a prompt for people to come into therapy and get assistance in developing new personal resources.
For you to change, the timing has to be right, you have to become 'ready, willing and able' and much of therapy can be about preparing you for those moments when this can occur.
Q: Why have Counselling and therapy?
A: There is much shame in our society about being in emotional distress. Simply wanting therapy must mean there is something "wrong" with you. But are you then responsible if you don't feel okay about yourself? After all, you cant control the fact that you feel bad; cant form happy relationships; cant stop worrying unnecessarily, and so on. Or can you? At first this can seem difficult to grasp, insulting even, that somehow "I create my own pain". The idea of therapy is to discover how you do this and make clear choices about how you live your life and who you spend it with.
