What is counselling and psychotherapy?

Counselling offers a safe and supportive environment, where you can talk over any difficult issues and explore the areas of your life you would like to change. This may take a few weeks, or may involve longer term therapy.

Counselling can help you to understand yourself and your relationships with those around you better. It can assist you to make informed choices or decisions, come to terms with your situation or find better ways of coping.

Psychotherapy is a more open-ended process which focuses on your past and how it connects to current issues at a deeper level than counselling.

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a more structured type of therapy which focuses on specific problems or behaviour you would like to change in the present. It involves testing out new ways of responding to situations outside of sessions. 

Why talk to a counsellor?

There are times when all of us find it difficult to cope. When things are not going well, we may not know what to do. Often we can turn to family and friends, but there are times when this is not possible. Sometimes they may not be the best ones to help you.

A counsellor is skilled in guiding you to gain a greater understanding of your life and will not judge you, be shocked by what you have to say, or impose solutions on you.

What sorts of issues does counselling deal with?

Anything which is troubling you can be a focus for counselling. Among other things, counselling can help you cope with: Bereavement and loss; Cultural issues; Depression; Family issues; Stress; Low self-esteem; Relationships; Sexuality; Alcohol/drug problems; Work related issues; Life transitions, e.g. redundancy.

CBT may be more helpful for anxiety disorders including PTSD and OCD.

Further information about counselling and psychotherapy is included in the 
Frequently Asked Questions page.