It's a good question! Do you really need a Counsellor? Needing something tends to carry this implication that you can't live without it. As a humanistic Counsellor, I believe that you already have everything you need within... my role is somewhat different to giving you what you need!

It's a good question because whilst we're all so very different, being different is something that we celebrate amongst ourselves! Speaking from my own perspective, right at the start, I wondered if training to become a Counsellor would change me in any way... Would I become this kind of enlightened being spreading warmth and kindness wherever I went...

I hear you!! When you finally make that decision to come to Counselling... You want it to work... badly! And let's be honest - sometimes one session is all that it takes! Either because that release was all that was needed or maybe a thought is shared or a perspective offered that just changes everything around for you! It happens! Fantastic!

It would be easy to assume that Counsellors are trained in "how" to do Counselling... but it's more than that... I've actually been trained in "how to be". You see Counselling is a set of conditions which I aim to offer to you - privacy, acceptance, empathy, understanding, compassion, and more. Each one a piece of connection that enables a relationship to form between us...

It's not often we find other people having exactly the same thoughts as us at the same time - almost as if we're psychically connected somehow... And yet in Counselling, I find this happens quite often and it's probably not something mystical but rather quite explainable!

Coming from the "Humanistic" school of thought... and having seen it work wonders over and over again... you might say I'm a bit of a believer in the power of talking therapy and self-actualisation (the power is already within you). But what is it specifically that drives those positive outcomes if all we're doing is "talking"... that can seem a little simple... but that's the elegant beauty of it.

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the busyness of worry! I know it, you know it, we all know it... and we still do it! That's why I like to look for the most simple answers to things and admittedly, we don't always have them to hand... but the question then becomes, what is the next most simple answer to find?

When the boffins have gone to research what makes Counselling work, it is normally the "approach" tested that hogs all the attention. But you know what comes out on top every single time? It's the relationship between a Client, YOU, and your Counsellor. So in a history spanning nearly 200 years now, the art of psychotherapy comes down to some pretty basic principles...

Perhaps one of the strangest juxtapositions of learning how to "be" a Humanistic Counsellor might just surprise you! In so many professional roles, the idea is to become expert at what it is you do. This takes time, energy and practice to master.

How long is a therapy session? You've probably seen all kinds of numbers out there and been left a little bewildered. Let's see if we can't clear some of the confusion about session length up here... 50 minutes is probably the norm, what you might hear described as the "therapeutic hour". It's considered an hour as your therapist will most likely use the remaining 10 minutes of that hour to jot down some notes after your session.

We'd all be forgiven for thinking that therapy is only for when you're feeling down, or unwell... and that's a valid point of view... but it's also not the only one. And as it happens, it isn't my point of view. Time and time again I've used personal therapy to challenge a sticking point in my life experience where I've felt discomfort or frustration, and always come out of therapy in just a handful of sessions with a means to enjoy my life even more.

Forgetting whatever the financial cost might be for a moment, let's just take a look at what Therapy is worth... because for most of us, the answer to that question will look completely different! Is it worth coming to Therapy? My short answer would be "yes"... haha, but I'm a Counsellor right? So I'll also offer with the caveat that you really only get out of it what you put in to it.

For some people the idea of starting therapy is daunting. Sometimes because it can feel like carrying the expectation that things are going to have to change, or very likely that you would like them to! And in most of our experience in life, that means learning something brand new... aka... hard work!

So we're talking about ending therapy before we've even begun huh? May sound like an odd angle? Well here's the thing! Although you may actually dip in and out of Counselling throughout the course of your life, many therapists, myself included, agree that the actual purpose of therapy is to guide you towards your own tools and understanding, the ones necessary for you to live life more fully, on your own terms.

It can be quite jarring to hear words like "you're the expert on yourself", which whilst, yes, I believe wholly, it also sort of begs the question "well, what do I need a Counsellor for then?" When you decide to come for therapy, you kinda want an expert to help you, am I right?

Theory gets us somewhere! And all those amazing and often beautiful self-help work-books are amazing at getting us to open up... and then somehow, it sort of peters out, am I right? The danger is to start thinking you can't be understood, or you can't understand yourself, or you're too complicated, or... dare I say it... too complex?

It's only natural to wonder what happens in your first counselling session... and it will differ from practitioner to practice... I can however share some of my experience, and perhaps that is something of a comfort as we dispel some of the mystery!

You might have heard that we can! And I guess that's something of a concern, so let's set the record straight.... Sure, it might seem at times like Counsellors are mind-readers - capable of amazing feats of deduction not unlike famous detectives like Sherlock Holmes. But it's not at all that mysterious, or even exciting!

This is a great question! Is it me? Is it someone else? I imagine that much of your experience, just like mine, has been to have someone try to "sell" you on their worth... to give you an elevator pitch on why you should choose them. Well, let's approach this from another angle shall we? No one actually knows who the best Counsellor is for you!