Anyone considering counselling as a way of working through current difficulties or re-occurrence of patterns that keep them stuck, understandably ask ‘What can I expect in a counselling session?’ Here is an overview of what you broadly can expect:
- The context of the session is set i.e. how you can share what brought you to counselling and what outcomes you desire by the end of counselling. In a first session, goals will be set and housekeeping issues regarding regularity of meeting, expected duration, payment methods etc discussed.
- Depending on the orientation of the therapist, future sessions will either be run with you sharing your story and the therapist assisting you to understand patterns and your part in their continuance. Most therapists (and some more directly) will offer techniques, strategies and visualisations to create change.
- Counselling comprises your story (what we call the content of the issue) and the process (your perception of events, your feelings and the relationship with the therapist). In short, the counselling relationship will be used to help shed light on how you are with yourself, with others and in relation to the world.
- In confidence these things can be pointed out and any change you decide upon, considered in terms of its consequences. For example, if you decide that being more assertive might help your relationships, there are consequences – in terms of your feelings and sense of who you are and other people’s reactions.
Counselling sessions are a wonderful opportunity for two people to explore one person’s life – your life – and because the counsellor is not known to you, they can challenge and support you in ways that friends can’t as they have rules and agendas of what they want from you changing. My 20 minute free session on the phone allows you to explore counselling and ask questions before committing to this journey.
Great post Clare!
Counselling sessions are a wonderful opportunity for two people to explore one person’s life – and your life.
It’s true that many of us invest too much time and energy, where it’s not wanted, valued or appreciated. Or productive. Putting it simply, some of us should let go of the need we have to fix other people’s lives, situations and relationships. Some people call this interference . It’s important that we have an ability (that is, a level of awareness and consciousness) to open our eyes and see what’s really going on beyond our point of view and beyond our version of reality. Seeing a situation (issue, challenge, problem) from our perspective only, is a recipe for disaster because we’ll never create connection. The irony is that many ’Fixers’ are so busy telling others what to do and how to be that they don’t see the toxic weeds growing in their own garden.
Thanks Craig
I wholeheartedly agree with you that many people are busy telling others how to live their lives rather than empowering them to be the leaders of their own lives. I think counselling is an opportunity to help people become the conscious experts of their own lives – often experiences labelled as ‘ill’ or ‘dis-eased’ are opportunities to see what is not working in our lives. I often ask my clients ‘When did you choose to forget the solution to your problem?’ Our bodies and psychological conditions shout very loudly when we don’t live our truth!