ᴄᴏᴜɴsᴇʟʟɪɴɢ, ᴀʟsᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡɴ ᴀs 'ᴛᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇʀᴀᴘʏ,' ᴀʟʟᴏᴡs ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ᴅɪsᴄᴜss ʏᴏᴜʀ ɪssᴜᴇs ɪɴ ᴀ ᴄᴏɴғɪᴅᴇɴᴛɪᴀʟ ᴀɴᴅ sᴜᴘᴘᴏʀᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴇɴᴠɪʀᴏɴᴍᴇɴᴛ. ᴏғғᴇʀɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀ sᴇᴄᴜʀᴇ, ᴘʀɪᴠᴀᴛᴇ sᴘᴀᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ sʜᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇʀɴs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ᴛʀᴀɪɴᴇᴅ ᴘʀᴏғᴇssɪᴏɴᴀʟ, ᴀɪᴅɪɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀsᴛᴀɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴏғ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs, ғᴇᴇʟɪɴɢs, ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇʜᴀᴠɪᴏᴜʀs.

P𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘰𝘯𝘦-𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩, 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴.

Benefits of Counselling

Counselling can support you in many ways.  Your counsellor can support you in an emotional and difficult time.  The power of being heard, and truly heard can be powerful, it can help you to reduce your emotional weight.

Counselling can assist you in developing effective coping strategies. By exploring your thoughts and feelings, you can identify patterns and triggers, which helps you manage your reactions and behaviours more effectively. This self-awareness can help you to maintain your long-term mental health and well-being.

It can help you to better understand yourself, you can improve your communication skills and emotional intelligence, leading to healthier and more fulfilling interactions with others. Counselling gives you a safe space to discover new things about yourself or to re-discover things you may have pushed aside. By understanding yourself you can know what is right for you, to be confident in your values and beliefs. To know who you truly are and therefore to live your life more closely to what is right for you.

How do I find a counsellor?

It can be overwhelming to find a counsellor, and it is important to note that counselling, unfortunately, is not regulated in the UK, therefore heading to several reputable directories is advisable.  Counsellors who advertise on these directories will have all completed a reputable counselling qualification and have met stringent standards. Counselling courses are demanding and require the student to have, amongst other requirements, to have completed a clinical placement working directly with clients within an organisation under supervision.

How do I find a qualified counsellor:

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) hold a register of therapists that meet their requirements of qualification. Registered members all will carry a BACP logo (see mine below, which includes a registration number. You can verify this number by visiting the registered member page on their website (https://www.bacp.co.uk/membership/registered-membership/).

All registered members adhere closely to an ethical framework, (see the framework here: https://www.bacp.co.uk/events-and-resources/ethics-and-standards/ethical-framework-for-the-counselling-professions/) Members attend regular monthly supervision and attends to monthly learning ensuring that you will be seeing a counsellor that is working ethically and enhancing their knowledge.  By choosing a registered counsellor you can be sure that your counsellor is meeting high standards of proficiency, professionalism and ethical practice, BACP, 2024).

Other good sources are:

• National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society: Similar to the BACP, requiring members to have completed a reputed counselling qualification and for members to adhere to an ethical framework.  https://ncps.com/
• Psychology Today: This site offers a comprehensive directory of therapists, including counsellors, psychologists, and psychiatrists. You can search by location and speciality.
• Counselling Directory: A detailed directory of professional counsellors and psychotherapists in the UK.

Who am I?

I am a person-centred counsellor,  and I am a qualified counsellor registered with the BACP, I provide a supportive and non-judgemental space for you to explore your thoughts and feelings. I offer counselling in the following ways:

Face-to-Face Counselling; Online Counselling; Telephone Counselling; Outdoor Therapy

ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕓𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕗𝕚𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕥𝕙, 𝕣𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕤.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘.  𝙸𝚗 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝚏𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏-𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎.

Conclusion

Counselling can help you heal and grow.  The relationship is unique and one that is supportive, giving you a safe place to reflect and explore your issues, you can discover more about yourself, learn about what you need and find coping strategies that work for you.

References:

British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP), July, 2024