Talking to a counsellor, who is impartial and skilled, can help us work through our personal or relationship difficulties and find our own unique way forward.

Counsellors are trained to listen and to help us explore the experience and origins of our feelings, thoughts and behaviours in a safe, confidential and non-judgemental way. Counselling does not claim to be the answer to all human difficulties, but it can help us find our own answers in a supportive environment. In this way counselling assists us to move towards more effective ways of coping, enabling us to have greater control of our lives.

Counselling is a psychological interaction which helps the client live and function more effectively at the time of the involvement or in the future. Specifically, the goal of counselling is to assist the client in adjusting to, or otherwise negotiating, environments that influence their own or someone else’s psychological well-being.

Research has shown that outside of therapy people rarely have a friend who will truly listen to them for more than 20 minutes. In addition, friends and relatives are often involved in the problem and therefore do not provide the “safe outside perspective” which may be required. Nonetheless, people often attempt to solve their problems by talking to friends, relatives, co-workers, religious leaders, or some other confidant in their lives, or by thinking and exploring themselves. Whilst this can be beneficial, the more structured approach of a client / therapist relationship has been shown to have far greater impact in helping people to solve their problems and resolve their issues.

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy describes counselling as a confidential relationship that is based on a contractual arrangement made between the therapist and the client. Within this relationship the client explores their personal distress and dissatisfaction or loss of direction and/or purpose in their life. The therapist will not give advice or tell you what to do, but rather finds a way to empower the clients towards making their own, more mature and balanced decisions. Counselling can be used short term for specific problems or long term for more deep-rooted issues which can be life changing.

A counsellor asks questions so that people can discover who they are and answer the questions themselves. They create an environment where people are free and they can find the truth that is deep within them. They help a client get clarity. It’s simple but it’s not easy!