Counselling can be difficult to define as it is an intensely personal process that will vary with each individual. What is constant is that counselling comes down to choice; a decision made by you to come and talk, in a private and confidential environment, about anything in your life that might be unsettling you. Feelings of displacement, distress, loss, a lack of direction or purpose or just a general sense of dissatisfaction are all normal parts of life that we will all experience at some point. It is perfectly normal to feel a sense of confusion or of being overwhelmed and that is when counselling can be beneficial and even life changing.
By listening attentively the counsellor can begin to perceive the difficulties from the client’s point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, acting as a navigator and not a director. The counsellor is there as an unbiased person who is removed from your life and is therefore able to offer objective insight but also simply to listen. Being able to talk freely, without fear of judgement, can often lead us to our own answers.
It is the role of the counsellor to encourage the expression of feelings and reflect the client’s problems. Bottled up feelings can become very intense when suppressed and counselling offers an opportunity to explore them, with the possibility of making them easier to understand.
Acceptance and respect for the client are essential and, as the relationship develops, so too does trust between the counsellor and client. From talking about the past and assessing what is proving to be difficult in the present, the focus will lead naturally to moving forward and looking to a happier and more balanced future for each individual person.
Further information on counselling and counsellors is available from the following organisations: