How counselling can help
A supportive, professional and respectful environment helps you to begin talking about your situation. This provides an opportunity to speak openly about what you are experiencing and to be listened to empathically and without judgment. Receiving feedback and understanding will bring some relief.
Going further with counselling or psychotherapy will enable you to look more deeply at current difficulties and to think about how the past may be affecting the present.
You can work towards making sense of your current situation: your reactions and behaviours, and your thoughts and feelings, including those of which you are less aware.
A sense of both relief and release comes from gaining insight and clarity. Relief from physical, emotional and psychological symptoms will bring improved health and well-being. You may find yourself acting more freely and confidently, with more awareness and direction.
This can involve:
- developing new coping strategies
- finding new ways of responding and relating
- working through unfinished business
- reflecting on unresolved grief and loss
- building awareness of your thoughts, behaviours, feelings and motivation
- developing the capacity to respond as you wish, rather than to react as if compelled
- recognising what you really want, prioritising, negotiating, and asserting yourself in order to make positive changes
Why People Seek Counselling
Counselling brings relief, clarity and direction. While of course it is different for each individual or couple facing difficulties, you may be able to relate to one of the following common reasons for seeking counselling:
- Stress, anxiety or panic
Worrying and unable to focus on anything clearly; erratic thoughts take over and even every day tasks can become too much. - Uncertainty in relationships
It may be hard to see how things can improve: neither staying nor leaving seem possible. - Overwhelming anger or frustration
When irritation quickly escalates into anger in situations that would not normally bother you; an outburst of anger can seemingly come from nowhere. - Indecision, confusion or inertia
Conflicting feelings may fill your thoughts; you might feel concerned and yet resentful at the same time. You may feel stuck and unable to act for fear of hurting another. - A sense of emptiness or detachment
A sense of flatness or even numbness seems to prevent you from feeling deeply about anything; nothing brings joy, excitement or enthusiasm - Grief, sadness or loss
Little things can set you off, make you want to cry, or cause you to feel down when you least expect it.
