5 ways to benefit from counselling sessions

Would you like to know how you can benefit from counselling sessions?

Are you thinking about starting therapy but don’t feel really sure?  Maybe you’ve got a few questions about it.

If something in your life is affecting you, no matter how small, choosing counselling can offer new ways for you to cope. You can find relief from overwhelming and distressing feelings.

You won’t be told what to do, but making time to explore what’s happened will help you.

If you’ve been used to keeping how you feel pushed down out of the way, it might be because somewhere in the past, your feelings were dismissed or ignored.

It is understandable that you may then have been put off taking the risk of telling someone else how you really feel. It might be that you haven’t even noticed yourself how you are feeling, or what you are regularly thinking about.

Would you like to be really listened to and heard where you are enabled to feel calm and comfortable? Clients have told me that they do feel safe to talk about things with me that perhaps they haven’t voiced ever before. They’ve told me that they feel understood by me.

I am warm and friendly with an informal style and a sense of humour. My hope is that you will feel really accepted and valued when we meet. I will work with you in a way that enables your thoughts and feelings to be validated. So that you may discover a different perspective.

I’ve become aware that for many people they have felt not really heard and if their feelings have been dismissed by others, they may learn not to really value how they feel as important. Possibly saying things like ‘other people have it a lot harder than I do’ for example. This may be true, but if you say this you are also minimising your own feelings and difficulties. What you are experiencing matters too.

Counselling and therapy is a way to have your feelings and emotions honoured and truly heard

How will I feel before I go to therapy?

It is so natural and totally understandable to feel both vulnerable and nervous before you come to counselling.  Even for the counsellor meeting someone new is never the same twice. 

Whenever anyone begins something new there can be a fear of the unknown. You may be aware of some things that are causing you distress, and are perhaps afraid of opening a pandora’s box. 

I can understand that you may be worried in case you are asked to talk about something you would prefer not to.

You will not be asked to talk about anything you don’t feel comfortable to share. 

It is important that you feel ready to explore any particular area.

The therapist’s role is to point the way and to guide the client through the process. To accompany you as you navigate your internal world of thoughts and feelings in a non-judgemental way.

It is helpful not to be alone with what can at times be distressing feelings or experiences.

Unlike when you talk to a friend, during counselling, you are the sole focus and your feelings are what are important.

The session is yours to be really listened to and to feel heard

You don’t have to be concerned about competing with the ups and downs of someone else’s life.

The time and space is yours and you can make full use of being attended to by someone who is professionally trained to listen to you and help you hear yourself. The more you are able to engage with your therapist the more you will benefit from counselling or therapy.

As you hear yourself this leads to new awareness and awareness means you have more choice. Choice can lead to changes in your life.

Counselling is a process and this continues when you are not in the session.

I like to review with you how you feel you are experiencing the sessions, to give you opportunity to feedback what parts of the work you are finding most helpful. 

New awareness will begin to emerge for you. 

I never tire of hearing about this new awareness being experienced both in and out of the sessions.

How many counselling sessions will I need?

There is no commitment in terms of periods of time. 

Are you worried you may need more sessions than you expect?

There is no reason why you can’t have just one session to decide if you would like anymore.

All counsellors want to help people as much as possible.

It is not a professional therapist’s mission to get as much money out of you as possible.

Choose one who has a qualification in counselling and psychotherapy. Who is a member of a professional body. This means that they commit to being led by ethical guidelines in their practice. 

In the UK counselling and therapy is not regulated and any person can say they are a counsellor or therapist without a qualification and advertise. This is why it is best to choose a qualified therapist to ensure you are going to be worked with in a safe and ethical way. This increases the likelihood that you will benefit from counselling sessions.

You can check here if a therapist/practitioner is registered with the Professional Standards Authority.

Generally speaking the longer you’ve been struggling, the longer it may take to see change.

Sometimes people decide to start with a certain number of sessions (six for example) and review how they feel after these.

It can help you to stay focussed on issues and help you feel more in control.