An introduction to counselling

What is Counselling?

Counselling in simple terms is a form of talking therapy which as a process that allows you to address and try to improve certain aspects of your life by working with a trained therapist. Counselling’s applications are extremely varied, from dealing with grief, managing a physical health complaint more effectively, or addressing mental health issues such as stress or depression.

How does counselling work?

How counselling works in detail depends a lot on the individual and what they are looking to address. But for many people counselling simply offers a confidential setting to share their thoughts and emotions with someone who is detached from the personal situation and has no bias. You also benefit from a trained therapist who brings experience from helping other people through similar situations.

Counselling and the therapist themselves will encourage you to better understand your emotions. With the therapist’s guidance, you can form a better understanding of your thought process which in turn will help you find your develop your own solutions.

What do you do at a counselling session and what to expect?

You should expect to talk openly with your counsellor about the challenges you are facing and the emotions you are feeling. At first this can feel difficult if you have not been able to talk openly about these experiences in the past. It’s quite normal to actually feel a little worse initially as you tackle memories or emotions you might not have shared before. However over time you will start moving towards solutions with your therapist.

You will usually continue this over multiple, regular sessions with your therapist. As you develop a therapeutic relationship with your therapist, you can create more consistency in how well you understand your emotions.

What can counselling help with?

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, counselling can be beneficial in lots of different circumstances. Here is a list of those things people more commonly use it for:

• Mental health issues such as stress and depression
• Relationship challenges such as marriage counselling
• Dealing with traumatic experiences such as an accident or a form of abuse
• Managing grief if you have lost a loved one
• Living with physical health problems
• Understand sexuality issues

How do I know if I need counselling?

If you are experiencing any of the challenges above and would like to discuss this with a trained professional therapist. Feelya can connect you to a therapist who has experience in that field and can assess in a safe and confidential environment whether counselling could help you. Just select ‘Get Started’ to set it up.