What are Counselling and Psychotherapy?

Adult Clients

For adult clients  Counselling and Psychotherapy are talking therapies .  The basis of counselling and psychotherapy is the relationship that is established between the client and their counsellor or psychotherapist. It is crucial that this is safe, trusting and non judgemental and that the client feels they will be met with respect, sensitivity and understanding so that they are free to speak about whatever is on their mind.

Child & Adolescent Clients

For Child & Adolescent clients  a wide variety of creative media are used including painting and drawing, clay, stories, and sand tray. For young people personal expression is non verbal. The child expresses their feelings, wants and needs through their play and their creative expression. Creative media help a young person to give voice to their inner  selves. With the increasing popularity of virtual media and computer games a specialist range of therapeutic games is now available for use in Counselling and Psychotherapy with adolescents. These can prove invaluable in helping them engage in Counselling or Psychotherapy and begin to share their difficulties.

What is Counselling?

Counselling  supports and enables the development of greater personal resilience. By taking a here and now focus, it can help to reduce anxiety and depression and negative thinking so that there is greater freedom to think through problems and find solutions. Counselling focuses on supporting our strengths and using these to develop new strategies so that we can find solutions to difficulties. Counselling can help with a wide range of needs from anxiety and depression to relationship difficulties.

What is Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy helps us to make changes that are deep and long lasting.  By taking a dual focus that looks both at our current situation and also any past circumstances that may be connected with it, it is possible to identify preferred patterns and preferences that take charge of our life even when we don’t want them to. This heightened understanding helps make it possible to change these patterns. In the process of making these changes people often re-discover parts of themselves that have become lost or overlooked. They develop new personal qualities and strengths and are able to build a richer and more satisfying life

Which is Right  for Me?

If you are unsure about choosing between Counselling and Psychotherapy  we will help you talk it through and come to a decision about what you feel will work best for you or for your child. We believe it is usually better to start small and progress from there if that is what is needed.

“Every moment is a fresh beginning.” – T.S. Eliot

With the right kind of help and support everyone has within them the capacity to overcome their emotional difficulties.