What is counselling-psychotherapy?

 

Counselling is an opportunity to explore issues or problems that may arise on one's life's journey in a non-judgemental safe environment. Essentially, the work of counselling and psychotherapy is about exploring how we live our lives. It is about considering our current thinking and behaviour patterns, and making the necessary changes.

Counselling gives you a chance to talk things through and gain new insights, clearing the way for you to focus and decide what to do next. It will help you find a sense of direction so that you can look at your problems and difficulties in a more objective way. A counsellor-psychotherapist is someone who is trained to listen carefully and non-judgementally to your problems, and to support you while you find your own solutions. The relationship between a counsellor-psychotherapist and another person is confidential and is based on respect and trust. Counselling is an opportunity to talk about your thoughts, fears, and emotions -- which may be difficult for you to do in other situations. Counselling-psychotherapy should help you to take control of your life and to understand the reasons why you feel the way you feel. It is often only when we talk to someone unconnected with our lives that we gain new insights, self-awareness, and greater understanding.

 

"There are a range of models of counselling, each with its own theoretical basis. Differences in approach often relate to the individual practitioner's interests and training, the setting in which the consultation takes place, or the predominant client group. There is also no clear distinction between the terms counselling and psychotherapy. Counsellors working in particular fields (e.g. marriage guidance, addiction, sexual abuse, or health) tend to specialise in the models most used in those areas."

(prospects.ac.uk)

 

I am a trained Rogerian counsellor-psychotherapist. I have studied the work and the theories of Carl Rogers in great detail for a good many years. I believe that the person-centred approach, when making contact with clients for the first time, is essential for the therapeutic process to begin. Carl Rogers' core conditions of respect, non-judgemental, congruence etc. are a "way of being" for the effective Rogerian counsellor. I also use an intregrative approach in my work with clients, drawing upon various therapeutic techniques including person-centred, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and solution-focused therapy.

 

"Though it shocks me somewhat to say, I have been a psychotherapist (or personal counsellor) for more than 33 years. This means that during a period of a third of a century I have been trying to be of help to a broad sampling of our population: to children, adolescents and adults; to those with educational, vocational, personal and marital problems; to 'normal,' 'neurotic,' and 'psychotic' individuals. (The quotes indicate that for me these are all misleading labels); to individuals who come for help, and those who are sent for help; to those whose problems are minor, and to those whose lives have become utterly desperate and without hope. I regard it as a deep privilege to have had the opportunity to know such a diverse multitude of people so personally and intimately."

--Carl Rogers, On Becoming A Person (1961).

 

People attend counselling for a wide range of issues and everyday problems. These include, but are not limited to:
*Anger
*Anxiety
*Bereavement
*Bullying
*Depression
*Drug and alcohol abuse
*Family conflict
*Gender issues
*Grief
*Low self-esteem
*Panic attacks
*Personal development
*Physical, verbal, or sexual abuse
*Relationships
*Self-harming
*Stress
*Suicide

 

 

 

Michael Dunford
MEd (Hons) Guid. & Couns., BSc (Hons) Couns. & Psych., Dip. Psychol., Dip. Couns.
IACP NAPCP IAAAC