What is Counselling?

Counselling is a confidential opportunity to talk about things which may be preventing you from living your life the way you would like. Counselling recognises that you are the expert on your life, but it can be hard sometimes to see how to deal with difficulties. Counselling offers a space for you to take a step back and see things more clearly. Counselling helps you to look at what is happening in your life, or has happened in the past, and find the best way forward for you.

Counselling is not about giving you advice or telling you what you should do. Counselling recognises that it can be helpful to talk to someone who is not involved in other parts of your life and who will listen to you, respect you and believe in your ability to discover for yourself what you need.

Counselling sessions normally take place on a regular basis, often weekly but can be flexible to suit your needs. A counselling session lasts for 50 minutes. Sometimes people come for counselling for just a few sessions. Sometimes people come for counselling for quite a long time. Again this depends on your needs and what you want to do. When you come for counselling you decide what you want to work on and you decide when you have done what you wanted to do.

Counselling is confidential and no information is passed on without agreement, unless there are exceptional circumstances relating to your safety or the safety of another person.