Is Counselling Helpful?
What is Counselling
Counselling is talking in an organized way about challenges people are having about different experiences in their lives. Counselling aims to help people understand what needs to be different for them, so that they feel better. This might mean that they have to get a different perspective, which will require them to THINK about something differently. Or it could mean that they have to DO something different to their normal pattern of behaviour. It is about finding out what is possible, and then planning for that.
Because everyone has a different life situation, defining counselling so that it relates to everyone is rather difficult. To make it easier to understand here are some examples of the kind of statements that people might begin with:
"I have extreme anxiety. It seems to come out of nowhere, and I just need it to stop. I don't know why it's happening, and it makes my life miserable."
"I feel so frustrated with my work. I hate going. I hate everyone there. No one likes me either. I want to quit but I haven't been able to find another job yet."
"I have arguments every day with my wife/husband/child/mother/father. I try to avoid them, but I just keep falling into another argument with them."
Beginning the counselling process takes a lot of courage and hope. The statements above are some examples of the kinds of concerns that people raise. The counselling process is likely to focus on the statement, but then the counsellor will need to ask questions so as to be able to getter a bigger picture of the situation, as well as a better idea of some character traits, history, expectations, and so on. Patience and persistence are at the foundation of counselling. But if you feel that you are not getting anything useful after about 4 sessions, perhaps the counsellor/client fit is not a good one, and it could be time to select another counsellor to work with.