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Sydney Counselling – A Brief Overview Of The Counselling Process
If you have never been to a Sydney counselling session before (or a counselling session anywhere , for that matter), you may not be familiar with how psychotherapy or counselling works and the counselling process. (you may want to read the ‘What Is Counselling” page for explanation of the terms ‘Counselling’ and ‘Psychotherapy’ and general information about Counselling. In this first article we will address the first counselling or psychotherapy session.
Sydney Counselling – The First Counselling Session
Your first counselling session is a helpful opportunity for the counsellor and the client to get to know each other and , very importantly , for the client to get to feel comfortable. It often takes a few sessions for the client to feel totally at ease and comfortable enough to discuss issues ,concerns and worries they not previously have spoken about before. It takes time to build trust and a ‘space’ where the client begins to feel ‘safe’ and comfortable in sharing. Obviously every psychotherapist and counsellor is different and there are many of approaches and ‘therapies’ offered. What you have envisaged or read about may differ when it comes to seeing a particular psychotherapist or counsellor and there will be differences in how a counsellor begins the counselling session. Some counsellors’ may want to establish ground rules’ or gather background information whilst others may prefer to more quickly commence the session and let the client take the lead. It is always useful to briefly discuss with the counsellor on the telephone your expectations and needs regarding counselling and get a feel for the type of approach that a particular counsellor may take.
Sydney Counselling – After the initial session
Depending on the type of psychotherapist or counsellor that the client meets with, they may be given ‘homework’ or follow up exercises which may be discussed in the following counselling session. This could include journaling or written work, time spent thinking about and reflecting on a particular issue, reading articles, or possibly carrying out behavioural tasks and exercises set by the counsellor during the session.This ‘homework’ ,for want of a better term can be very helpful and will allow the client to get more out of their following session .