Counselling Sydney – What Is Counselling ?

In general terms counselling is the process when a counsellor sees a client in a private setting to explore an issue or difficulty the client is experiencing, a distress they may be going through or perhaps a general dissatisfaction with their life, or a loss of a sense of purpose. The client may be experiencing a feeling of depression ,anxiety , anger or a whole range of emotions that they are struggling with. 

By listening skilfully ,attentively and patiently the counsellor can begin to grasp and perceive the difficulties from the client’s perspective and can assist the client to see things more clearly, possibly from a different perspective. The counselling process is a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion.  It does not involve giving advice or directing a client to take a particular course of action. Counsellors will not judge or exploit their clients in any way and adhere to a strong code of ethics.

During a counselling session the client can explore various aspects of their life and the feelings they are experiencing and have the opportunity to discuss them freely and openly .For many people this is rarely possible with friends or family. Pent up feelings such as anger,sadness, depression , anxiety, grief and a wide range of emotions can be experienced with great intensity and counselling offers an opportunity to explore them and work through them with the possibility of making them easier to understand and cope with. Counsellors will encourage the client to express their feelings and as a result of their training will be able to reflect the client’s problems without becoming burdened by them.

Confidentiality ,acceptance and respect for the client are essentials for a counsellor and, as the relationship develops, so too does trust between the counsellor and their client, enabling the client to explore many aspects of their life, their relationships and themselves in ways which they may not have considered previously or been able to cope with before. Counsellors may be able to assist the client to examine in detail the behaviour or situations which are creating distress for the client or proving troublesome and to look for areas where it would be possible to initiate some change for the client. The counsellor may help the client to what options may be open to them and help them to decide which may be best for them.

Counselling Models

Whilst there is considerable consensus about the core content of the counselling process, there are nevertheless many distinctly differing approaches to counselling. Many counsellors start from a theoretical base which may be humanistic, psycho-dynamic, cognitive or behavioural for example. 

Therapy ,Counselling or Psychotherapy ?

It is not possible to make a generally accepted distinction between therapy ,psychotherapy and counselling. There are well founded traditions which use the terms interchangeably and others which distinguish between them. If there are differences, then they relate more to the individual therapists ,psychotherapist’s or counsellor’s training and interests and to the setting in which they work, rather than to any intrinsic difference in the two activities. 

Choosing a Counsellor

It is very important to establish what qualifications and accreditation’s the counselor has. There are numerous people who call themselves “counselors” or “therapists” because they have taken a weekend seminar or have learned a certain therapeutic approach. But without the proper training in counseling or psychotherapy such a person lacks the education, training, and skills to provide safe psychotherapy and counseling. It is highly recommended to only work with counselors and therapists who have recognised  training.  Without the proper training there is enormous risk of causing harm. Examples of professional accreditation bodies are ACA and CAPA and PACFA .