Counselling – a personal view.
For me, counselling is about having the opportunity to talk about stuff that is having a negative impact on your life. Stuff that is getting in the way.
Counselling should not be seen as either something for “the mad, the bad or the sad” or some great panacea that will cure everything.
I feel many people see counselling as something they do once and that's it. I feel it's something that people should come in and out of when they need it. Maybe 6 sessions to look in a really solution-focused way about a particular issue would suit you. Perhaps more sessions to consider and explore a range of issues that are affecting your life would be appropriate over a longer period.
That's how I've used counselling through my life. I didn’t feel that I needed to be in therapy for years, but what I did know was that I wanted someone I felt I could talk to who was objective and non-judgmental – a counselling relationship provided that setting.
As a man in the corporate world I had a particular sense that counselling wouldn't be for me, that I should be able to sort things out myself and that it wouldn’t help – my only regret is that I didn’t explore counselling sooner.
