COUNSELLING 101
Counselling or 'therapy' is when a qualified Counsellor (or therapist) provides a safe and confidential space for an individual to explore any difficulties or distress they may be facing in life; whether that be dealing with a difficult life event, processing difficult emotions or exploring who we are and why we act as we do.
By actively listening and experiencing the world from the Client's perspective, the Counsellor is then able to assist the Client in understanding their thoughts, feelings and behaviours and work towards resolving their issues.
A Counsellor is not there to give advice, provide opinions or wave a magic wand and fix everything; instead, they will aid and encourage you to explore what has been troubling you to help understand any deeper causes or patterns of thinking.
The Counsellor will help you find a solution to your problems.
PERSON CENTRED COUNSELLING
Person-Centred Counselling, founded by Carl Rogers in the 1940’s is a humanistic approach to Counselling which deals with the way in which individuals perceive themselves consciously, rather than a therapist interpreting an individuals' unconscious thoughts or ideas.
Rogers stated that all humans naturally aim to achieve their full potential, to flourish and to thrive, and we each know what we need in order achieve our goals and desires. He believed that all humans can achieve anything they want in life; and if they do “self-actualisation” can take place. Person Centred Counselling then, is a therapy that will aid one’s ability to “self-actualise” or reach their full potential.
Rogers recognised that several things could affect an individual’s ability to reach their full potential (such as evaluation of others and childhood experiences) as this is how we as humans, tend to view ourselves. The Person-Centred Counselling approach then, empowers clients; helping them understand how their experiences have affected the way they feel about themselves and take the steps towards positive change.
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT)
CBT is a form of talking therapy which emphasises that our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are all linked and specifically that our thoughts can impact the way we feel and act. By combining Cognitive Therapy (how we think) and Behavioural Therapy (how we act), CBT offers techniques that challenge negative thinking patterns which may be causing distress to an individual. CBT is effectively used to treat a range of problems and looks for a solution to the presenting issue.
I hold a further qualification in CBT in order to utilise this approach with my clients.
PSYCHODYNAMIC THERAPY
Psychodynamic therapy looks at how your current thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by your past experiences, the ‘unconscious mind’ i.e the part we are not actively aware of and our impulses.
Psychodynamic therapy allows space to explore your subconscious and bring this to your conscious awareness, by doing so it allows the Client to process difficult memories, experiences and emotions so we can further understand the impact these have had and in turn, learn to cope with them.
By working integratively, I am able to integrate psychodynamic techniques to our sessions if applicable/ relevant to you.
DIALETICAL BEHAVIOUR THERAPY
(DBT)
DBT is a form of talking therapy – adapted from CBT (details above), however DBT looks at exploring and coping with difficult and intense emotions.
‘Dialectical’ means trying to understand how two things that seem opposite or contradictory to one another, can be true. For example looking at accepting yourself or the situation you are in, but also changing the behaviour. DBT allows for these to be true.
DBT has 4 main components; Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Interpersonal Effectiveness and arguably the most important, Emotion Regulation.
I hold a further qualification in DBT in order to utilise this approach with my clients.
