Reasons to seek Counselling /Psychotherapy. You may relate to any one of the following:
- You might find that life isn’t going as well as it could and the usual ways of coping aren’t working for you.
- You might feel unhappy in your life and cannot work out what is causing this or how to change this.
- You might have experienced a significant loss or change which is having a negative impact on how you are living.
- You may have experienced trauma or abuse that has become overwhelming for you.
- You may have difficulties in intimate relationships.
- You might recognise feeling anxious and this gets in the way of living and relating well.
- You might be using alcohol or other substances which have become a way of coping with overwhelming feelings.
- You may have experienced sexual abuse or family violence.
It is useful to make a distinction between counselling and psychotherapy. Counselling is often focused on specific problems or relieving the impact of an immediate crisis. Counselling is usually a shorter termed process than psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy is more focused on exploration and understanding of underlying reasons for the problem or difficulty. Psychotherapy supports the recognition and awareness of themes and recurring patterns that may impact on a person’s sense of well being. The aim of psychotherapy is to deepen self awareness, enhance personal growth and heal past hurts. Both counselling and psychotherapy assist individuals to grow personally and engage in life more fully.