04/29/08

What do we mean by counselling?  It used to mean giving sound advice about almost anything but now we tend to mean having a fifty- minute session with a trained counsellor either face to face or on the telephone.

Either way, the first requirement will be to build up a feeling of trust between the counsellor and client and this will be the supporting basis for any work done.  To do this the counsellor listens to understand the client and respectfully holds the space between them so that the client can feel free to say, think and feel whatever they need to.

The counsellor is in charge of holding the boundaries of time and space and for keeping the client emotionally safe.  The client is in charge of what issues are brought up and how she expresses herself.

Sometimes a counselling session is the first time a person will really feel heard and this in itself can affect positively the way a person values herself.  If she feels valued within sessions she can begin to feel valued in the external world.  This can be the beginning of change.

Talking about an issue often brings up needs, goals and obstacles.  One might say you are making your life jigsaw - so far as you have reached - and it is you the client who has all the pieces but with someone there it becomes easier to bring them out to see where they all fit.

Some pieces, for instance, might turn out to belong to a jigsaw of the past or even someone else’s jigsaw.   When these pieces are dropped and there is just the present to deal with, the picture becomes less confusing.  Dropping pieces you no longer need is where a lot of work is done in counselling and you will find it very rewarding to realise how even a very small change can make a big difference to your life.