While counselling is unique for everyone, there are some common things you can expect from counselling:
- Initial sessions focus on exploring – It’s like drawing a map of your world so we know the lay of the land, the important features, as well as any dangerous/scary areas.
- Things may get worse before they get better – Stirring things up can be difficult. It is often necessary to open old wounds, explore scary experiences, and confront difficult thoughts and feelings.
- Things can get messy and confusing – Unlike TV, not every thread is neatly tied up and not everything makes perfect sense. Life is messy and complicated.
- I offer metaphors, spot patterns, and draw links – Three things I am particularly good at and which clients often find helpful. However, it’s important to push back if what I offer doesn’t ‘fit’ with your experience so we can further explore and clarify together.
- I will sometimes offer suggestions but never ‘advice’ – I am not the expert in your life, you are. But I will have some things to try out if you want to. These are never mandatory, are not ‘advice’, and I won’t think less of you if you prefer not to take them.
- There is no magic wand – As much as I would like to magic away your problems, I can’t. Any easy solution to complex and messy issues like life should be treated with scepticism.
- You have power in the room – Counselling is collaborative work. If you don’t like something, you can change it. If you want something specific, you can ask for it. If you want to change focus, you can.
Further questions around counselling, what to expect, issues like confidentiality, etc. are explored in my FAQs page.