What is counselling?
Counselling is a way of helping people with different kinds of personal problems. it is based on the building of a trusting relationship between the counsellor and their client and it can enable people to talk about their experiences and make sense of them. Counselling can also allow people to express difficult feelings and to learn how to manage them in a helpful way. Counsellors are trained to listen thoughtfully and carefully to people's problems without judging or criticising them. They do not give advice, but support their clients to make positive decisions for themselves. Counsellors will have received counselling themselves as part of their training and commitment to personal development.
What's the difference between Counselling and Psychotherapy?
There's a lot of overlap, so we refer to both as 'therapy'. Both can be enriching and help you to deal with your problems in a more effective way. Counselling often focusses on a specific problem, whereas in general, psychotherapy may take longer and involve greater exploration of someone's past experiences in order to make sense of their present and to deal with more deep-seated issues.
Many people who seek psychotherapy are not in a crisis, but are interested in finding out about themselves, improving relationships and living a more rewarding life.
Will you tell anyone what I talk about?
Many young people are concerned about who might be told what happens in their sessions. We regard the privacy of a client as essential to the success of the work that we do. This means that we would not normally discuss what you say with anyone else - parents, teachers, probation workers, social workers - unless you want us to.
There are some legal and ethical limitations to confidentiality and these are explained on the intake forms and can be discussed at your first session, so that you understand and are comfortable with the safeguards that we offer before you disclose any private personal information.
