What is Counselling
What counselling is. How it may help you over come your struggles
Counselling Services - Worldwide
I offer easy access to high quality counselling online, empowering and guiding adults to improved mental health and growth
What Counselling is...
Counselling is a term that cover a wide range of talking therapies that should be delivered by trained professionals who belong to a UK registered professional body.
The specific work done with each client and the timescale will vary depending on the client’s needs, the presenting issues and the professional’s therapy styles. There are many ways to deliver counselling, with different underlying theoretical approaches, using tools, strategies or/and creative methods, but the core of is the importance of the relationship between client and counsellor.
A Counselling Environment
Counselling provides a client with a safe, confidential space that permits them to explore feelings, emotions and body that are presenting difficulties for the client and can encompass issues from the past and present.
You are what matters to your counsellor. Counselling differs greatly from talking about problems with friends and family. Counsellors are trained not to project their own thoughts and feelings onto their clients and discussions can be had without judgement or prejudice.
The exploration of concerning issues within counselling often allows the client time and consideration to identify solutions that suit them and make sense of these issues in a way that is meaningful to them.
Empowerment
Therapy is about empowering the client to control, identify and create meaningful solutions to the issues in their life.
To read more of how this achieved, have a look at Person Centred Counselling here.
The Difference Between Counselling and Psychotherapy
Despite their being no definitive agreed answer to this, and both are often used to describe the same thing. Traditionally, counselling is used to describe a short-term relationship, whereas psychotherapy is longer term.
How I work safely with clients
All UK Counsellors need to register with a professional governing body and ensure their work holds up to the ethical frameworks outlined by those organisations. The most popular in the UK are the BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists) and UKCP (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapists). These provide guidelines to ensure safe practice for both the client and the practitioner. I am registered with the ICPI (Independent Council of Integrative Psychotherapy) and subscribe to their ethical framework.
As part of the ethical frameworks, there are clear guidelines including:
Desired counsellor values and attributes
How we should practice (this is generic and is not specific to differing approaches) including the counselling environment, current legislation, confidentiality and setting appropriate boundaries
How we keep, store and share information about clients
Counsellor supervision requirements
Counsellor fitness to practice and self-care
Ongoing requirements for the counsellor’s continued professional development (CPD)
The respect of equality and diversity
Boundaries in the Counselling
Appropriate professional boundaries in the counselling sessions are essential to ensure ethical practice and the safety of both client and counsellor.These boundaries are set out in your first session, when you will also complete a counselling contract.
Boundaries may include:
Expectations and limitations of the counselling relationship
Terms of the sessions. Including frequency, fees, duration and cancellation procedures
Maintaining the counselling relationship, e.g. how to respond if you run into your counsellor outside of the sessions
Appropriate behaviour and conduct
How and why your information is stored and how long it will be held
Confidentiality and any limitations
Complaints procedure
Clinical Supervision
This is required monthly for all counsellors. The duration may vary depending on the amount of client work or the particular professional body. Clinical supervision is undertaken by an experienced and well-qualified counsellor who has achieved a qualification in supervision. Clinical supervision ensures the safety of both client and counsellor. It provides the counsellor the opportunity to discuss any conflicts both professional and personal, look to solutions, or use it as a space to share new concepts and ideas. Client’s details are kept anonymous where possible but during supervision is the only time a therapist can discuss client work.