What is counselling?

Private counselling provides a safe, confidential space in which you can explore your difficulties and what it is that stops you from living a more fulfilling life. The counsellor will not judge you, but help and support you in finding your own way out of a crisis, in making a difficult decision, or coming to terms with a painful event, building on your strengths and helping you to grow as a person.

Many people initially contact us with their self-diagnosis, such as they need ‘counselling for anxiety’ or ‘counselling for depression’ or ‘counselling for anger management’. But behind each person’s ‘anxiety’ or ‘depression’ or ‘difficulty managing their emotions’ lies their individual and very particular story. The work in counselling is learning to understand how your individual stories have formed your emotional world.

Usually you will take the lead in bringing what you feel you need to bring to the sessions, which might be a bit uncomfortable to begin with. Your counsellor will however be listening carefully to you, trying to understand what you are struggling with, and feeding back their observations in order to help you deepen your awareness of yourself and your problems.

This approach enables you to move beyond being stuck in a particular view, to get in touch with deeper feelings, clarify what you want and need, and find your own way forward

The benefits of psychodynamic counselling

We use psychodynamic counselling methods, one of a number of models of counselling, which draws on psychoanalytic understanding of the human mind and pays attention to the way early experiences influence the way we operate as adults. These patterns are often reflected in the way you relate to your counsellor and it can be helpful to explore this in the here-and-now.

Do I need counselling?

The benefits of personal counselling are wide ranging, from resolving a particular issue in your life to personal growth and development. Talking to someone who is neutral and has the skills to help you clarify your feelings can help in many situations; here are some examples:

• If you struggle to make an important decision in your life, for instance in relation to your career or your relationship, and need to clarify what you want and what is best for you
• If you experience a stressful situation or crisis in your life and need help to keep your head above the water and deal with it productively
• If you have experienced a loss of someone or something important in your life and find it difficult to move on, and need to process and understand your feelings
• If you suffer from feelings that you do not understand, such as sadness and anxiety
• If you feel unfulfilled or that you are not reaching your potential

How long will counselling last?

This depends on the issue you want help with and will be agreed between you and your counsellor. Usually it is short-term, lasting between 6 and 24 sessions, but sometimes it continues for longer if necessary.