Counselling and Psychotherapy are ‘talking therapies’. Both provide the same confidential non-judgemental setting. There are various types of counselling such as one to one, couples and group/family counselling. Both counselling and psychotherapy approaches overlap and intersect ensuring that the client will be listened to sympathetically, empathically and without judgement.

COUNSELLING

Counselling facilitates people in dealing with more current issues in their life– it enables an individual client to open up and talk about a current issue or problem in a safe and confidential environment. A current issue might concern a recent loss such as bereavement, job loss or a relationship issue that requires the client to seek some safe space to help the cleint work it though and work it out.

A counsellor’s role is as a facilitator who assists the client in working through their present issues. A counselling environment can allow a client to simply release and express something that has been on their mind for weeks or months.

The answers to most of our problems are found within. However, sometimes we lose sight of our abilities and capabilities. We become stuck. Counselling can also help you to see your problems and issues in a new way enabling you to overcome what you previously viewed as overwhelming. Giving verbal expression to thoughts can be really useful – especially the thoughts which might remain “stuck” in our heads for long periods of time.

Counselling provides a really useful safe and confidential space which enables the client to express themselves without being judged. It also enables the client to talk without someone jumping in offering advice or opinions or solutions.

PSYCHOTHERAPY

Psychotherapy – therapy of the psyche. Psychotherapy uses specialised techniques to help us identify and gradually overcome, emotional and mental patterns of response to events which are sometimes deeply embedded in us, sometimes right back to childhood, and about which, for the most part, we are unconscious.

These patterns often prevent us from living effective lives. A Psychotherapist will assist the client in identifying these patterns of thought and behaviour; thus enabling the client to identify where they might have emerged from whilst working with the client to overcome them and develop new ways of living that work successfully for them.