I am sometimes asked by potential new clients if I am prepared to see them fortnightly rather than on my usual weekly basis. I understand that counselling or psychotherapy is a major commitment both in terms of time and cost and that on the face of it meeting less frequently…
You’ve met your counsellor and decided to go ahead with some sessions. He or she seems pleasant, competent and interested in what you have to say. You might be feeling rather unsure about what happens next and also perhaps a little wary as to whether you can really trust this…
So now you have a shortlist of suitable sounding counsellors and psychotherapists… What made you choose them? Do they practise close to where you live or work? Did you like the look of them from a photo, or perhaps what they have to say about their approach to therapy on a website or…
Most practitioners agree that is the strength of the relationship between you and your therapist that is the best indicator for a successful counselling or psychotherapy outcome. If the fit between the two of you is good, then the chances are you, as the client, will be able to make…
I have come across numerous contradictory answers to this question. It appears that the definition of each term depends upon whom you ask. In my view, there is one fundamental difference between the two processes, together with lots of cross-over. This essential difference is sometimes tricky to grasp and even…
“How could you be so selfish?!” “I’m finding you aggressive right now!” “You’re jealous!”
I’m waiting to pay at the supermarket check-out. I can feel the guy behind me’s breath on the back of my neck. From time to time the corner of his basket digs into my right kidney. He huffs, puffs and sighs. This man is in my personal space!
I like a good metaphor and I came across a great one the other day. On my holidays a tour guide was apologising for not being able to drive over the Brooklyn Bridge in New York as commercial vehicles (we were in a bus) are prohibited. But, she said, there…
Are you still living your life according to a ‘script’ or set of rules about how to be in the world that you first put together when you were four-years-old? Theories of Transactional Analysis (developed by Eric Berne) suggest that many of us are.
For me, counselling is about change. You might consider visiting a counsellor when you are feeling uncomfortable or distressed about some aspect of your life. Together, you and your counsellor will explore what’s going on and consider options for making changes to the way you respond to certain situations and feelings.
