There are many different schools of counselling and psychotherapy and this can be very confusing. Having said this, the most important aspect of getting effective help lies in the relationship between psychotherapist and client. Counselling and psychotherapy offer an opportunity to talk about your concerns without fear of being judged or criticised. You can talk about what has happened, express emotions in a safe place, and step back and assess what is going on in your life.
People come for psychotherapy for many reasons - acute or chronic anxiety, depression, addictive behaviour, feeling directionless in life, experiencing powerful emotions which feel out of control, problems with relationships, inability to overcome loss and grief - really any psychological state which is preventing the individual from achieving the kind of quality of life they really want.
I believe we all want to experience well-being, and I know from my own experience that change is really possible. Through the counselling or psychotherapeutic process we learn more about ourselves and how we relate to others. We develop awareness and learn communication and self-reflective skills that can make our experiences in life more meaningful. We can become more aware of how we create and maintain behaviours that no longer serve us. The potential positive affects of this go far beyond our personal well-being. When we are more at peace on the inside, we can become more socially skilled and aware on the outside. I believe this in turn can only lead to more balanced and healthy families, communities and nations.
I work with a wide range of techniques and diagnostic models from both traditional and modern counselling and psychotherapeutic disciplines.
There really are huge overlaps between psychotherapy and counselling. Generally speaking we can say that counselling tends to focus on a particular issue, and the aim is to start and complete within a few sessions. Counselling can include giving advice, although usually it is more about the counsellor listening than talking. Many of the skills used by the counsellor or psychotherapist are the same. However, psychotherapy usually involves a much longer training and requires the therapist to do very deep psychological work on themselves over several years.