What is Counselling and Psychotherapy?
Counselling/psychotherapy offers you a safe and confidential place to explore aspects about your life and anything that may be confusing, painful or uncomfortable or even what you are curious about. It lets you to talk with someone who is trained to listen carefully and can help you change things. A therapist will not tell you what to do or judge you, but always try to understand things from your point of view, and support you to find your own voice in this.
What is Online therapy and how does it work?
During the present need for social distancing during the Covid-19 epidemic we have moved our work Online based therapy. We offer video and telephone counselling.
Video counselling:
Zoom is a way for you to see your counsellor face-to-face from your computer whilst engaging in therapy. With Zoom the counselling can take place in a secure and encrypted way to offer you confidentiality and safety. In case of interruption of service we will agree a backup plan with you. If needed you will be guided through setting up your own encrypted Zoom account and you will meet your counsellor on Zoom at a time that you have previously arranged. Sessions are 50 minutes in length. Being able to see your therapist gives you more of the benefits you get from face-to face sessions but with the convenience of online therapy. By talking you hear tone of voice which is a way to convey empathy and with video you see nonverbal communications such as facial expressions.
Telephone sessions:
This is similar to video counselling with a Zoom platform or via a handset and so offers the same encryption, but without the visual aspects. An advantage of telephone therapy is that non-verbal communication can be carried in your tone of voice and pace of speech which can be picked up by your counsellor.
Counselling or Psychotherapy?
People often ask “what the difference is between a Counsellor and a Psychotherapist?” Generally speaking a Psychotherapist has had a longer and more in depth training and would be considered to work at greater depth with clients. In reality, many counsellors would say that they work with the complexity of issues that a psychotherapist works with and many Psychotherapists would consider themselves to provide counselling as part of their work.
What is important is that you feel comfortable and safe with your psychotherapist or counsellor and are able to form an alliance with them where you can explore the issues you wish to look at.
Does counselling and therapy work and is it an instant cure?
Different people will get different results from their therapy experience and experiencing change will mean different things for different people. Recent studies from the International Centre For Clinical Excellence showed that 80% of clients in Counselling and Therapy end up better off than those who didn’t seek help. It usually takes some time for you to become aware of changes and improvements in your life. Sometimes counselling and therapy can initially be quite difficult but you will always be in a safe place at the end of your session.
How long is an individual counselling session & how many will I need?
Counselling or therapy sessions are 50 minutes long, and usually weekly. However, it is quite usual for some therapists to see certain clients more than once a week. The number of sessions is something that you decide in consultation with your counsellor and will be dependent on the issues you want to work on and what your goals are. In any case session duration is reviewed regularly as well as how the work is going and whether your aims are still the same.
Can I end my sessions when I want?
The client is in control of when they want to end although therapeutically speaking ideally this would be decided in collaboration with the counsellor/therapist.
Where are you located?
Presently, during the period of social distancing we offer various forms of Online and telephone counselling.
How does your service work?
As a small group of counsellors/therapists we all hold
- Qualifications at Post Graduate level
- Membership of one or more Professional Bodies
- Personal, Professional Liability Insurance.
When you start therapy/counselling, there is typically a consultation/ assessment session before you begin. This provides time to get to know the counsellor/therapist a little better, ask questions, and raise any concerns you may have. Typically, your therapist will ask what you hope to get out of therapy or why you are looking to talk to a counsellor and ask a little background information about you and discuss the working agreement with you. This will concern things including confidentiality, means of communication and online safety, what you need to do if you want to cancel a session, fees etc.
