Offering clients confidential, non-judgemental, counselling in a safe, supportive and calming environment
Counselling
Counselling is a form of Talk Therapy that helps individuals with psychological and emotional issues. There are many reasons why we all need to speak to a counsellor at some point in our life. It does not have to be after experiencing a traumatic event. Counselling can help individuals when they are experiencing personal difficulties such as exam stress, bereavement, relationship problems, family problems, harassment, bullying, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, OCD, or dealing with stress whether work or personal, or to overcome phobias.
The opportunity for a client to think and talk about a difficulty (ies) they may be facing in their life in a safe, calm, confidential and non-judgemental environment can not only bring a sense of relief to that person, but also help them make meaningful changes to their life and their relationships.
Counselling can help individuals make sense of difficulties they experience which affect their mood, their behaviour, their feelings, their thoughts and even their physiological well-being.
There are many forms of counselling - see below for their definitions and a brief description.
CBT Counselling
CBT or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy uses the power of the mind by helping clients challenge self-debilitating thoughts that affect their thinking, feeling, behaviour, mood, actions as well as their physiology. CBT helps client think differently so that they can change the things in life that they want to change. CBT is especially effective with Clinical Depression, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorders), Phobias, Sleep problems, addictions, Healthy Eating and Weight Reduction to name but a few.
Child Play Therapy
Play therapy is about helping troubled children cope with difficult life events. Play is the medium of communication because it is the way children make sense of their world. Play therapy can be Non-directive Play, Focused Play, Collaborative Play or Cognitive Behavioural Play Therapy (CBPT) therapy. The techniques used are designed to promote a general release of emotions.
Creative Stone Counselling
Working with clients using a collection of small stones, pebbles and crystals to explore their world and what their subconscious is telling them. This can bring huge insight for the client and help with their personal development.
Gestalt Therapy
This model helps clients gain self-awareness by analysing their behaviour and their body language. The sessions normally include acting out situations and scenarios.
Integrative Counselling
This is when different and distinct approaches to counselling converge and are used together.
NLP
NLP describes Neuro-Linguistic Programming which is the Psychology of Excellence. It is based on the premise that if one person can do 'it' (the model of excellence) then it is possible to model 'it' and teach 'it' to others.
Person Centred Counselling
This is based on the model that encourages personal growth and development. Clients are encouraged to explore their feelings by taking responsibility for their own actions and thoughts. Humanistic and Client/Person Centred are often used interchangeably.
Solution-focused Therapy
Clients are encouraged to focus on solutions to issues rather than dwelling on the past. It is normally brief therapy taking about 3 - 4 sessions.
TA Counselling
TA or Transactional Analysis is a theory of personality and is based on the belief that everyone has 3 parts to their personality; Child, Adult and Parent known as the Ego State Model. It helps people understand how they function and how they express themselves in terms of their behaviour; communication and even how they live out their life. Clients are encouraged to use this type of therapy where there is a need for understanding of individuals, relationships and communication. So a counsellor in helping a client understand themselves better would bring to their attention the behaviours within each part of their personality they are in so that they are able to change them, or at the least understand the consequence of their actions in relation to their feelings and experiences.
Life Scripts are another cornerstone of TA counselling. This type of counselling helps clients understand how they may have unconsciously set up problems for themselves and how they may set about solving them. Clients can benefit from this type of therapy by understanding how they have been setting up problems for themselves by getting into script.
TA is powerful tool in communication and management.
TA is also a highly effective model for parenting.
We have helped clients - including children with:
- Relationship / Family issues
- Major Life Changes
- Coping with divorce / Separation
- Coming to terms with Death of a loved one or a pet
- Clinical Depression / Anxiety
- Stress Management
- Sleep Problems and establishing Sleep Promoting Habits
- Parenting Issues
- Financial Difficulties
- Weight Management Issues
- Overcoming Negative Self Talk
- Stopping bad habits
- Drugs & Alcohol problems
- Children
- helping them come to terms with difficult life events - separation; divorce; bereavement
- helping them address, understand and deal with anger issues
- helping build their self confidence and self-esteem
Before you decide whether Counselling or indeed any form of Psychotherapy is good for you, it is a good idea to come to a FREE Initial Consultation session with a list of questions. This way you are able to set aside any anxieties you may have about counselling, whilst at the same time seeing whether you are likely to get on with your counsellor and if they will be understanding of your situation. It is important to remember that any professional counsellor will not harass you about making a commitment at that stage and they will not feel offended if you decide it is not right for you.
If you would like to find out more, please contact Goals Counselling for an initial FREE consultation.