About Counselling/Psychotherapy
Sometimes we get stuck in life and feel we are missing something, or not achieving our full potential. We might be going through health, work or bereavement issues which are impacting our relationships or wellbeing. Other life events, whether current or in the past, can cause us to feel distressed, angry or confused.
Counselling can offer you a safe place to explore your feelings and concerns. People often report that counselling enables them to feel fully listened to and understood, sometimes for the first time in their lives. This often leads to a feeling of being accepted unconditionally, which helps people to develop increased confidence and self esteem.
Counselling is not about waving a magic wand, offering advice or a giving a quick fix. But it can help you to discover fresh perspectives on life, make new choices and find ways to feel less stressed and more in control of your life.
What Issues Can Counselling Help With?
I believe that counselling can help with any type of emotional distress, whether it be niggling feelings of emptiness, discontent and wanting more out of life; or feelings of loss, depression, anxiety, or low self esteem. These difficulties often present as anger, irritability, or difficulty concentrating and can affect our relationships. We may experience physical symptoms such as digestive issues, IBS, sleep disturbances, aches and pains. Counselling offers the support and empathy necessary for you to explore your thoughts and feelings, and gain some peace of mind and focus so you can deal with these more effectively.
Life often involves separations from loved ones and many of us face life with less support than in previous generations, which can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Sometimes we feel reluctant to share our feelings with loved ones or friends for fear of affecting them in some way. It can be very helpful and healing to talk things through in confidence, with an empathic counsellor, who is not directly involved.
All of us, at some time in our lives, experience painful losses, whether through bereavement, ill health, relationship breakdown,or "empty nest" syndrome, to name but a few. Counselling offers you a designated time each week for you to explore your feelings about these issues, and start to heal.
Sometimes we find ourselves trying to cope with problems in unhelpful ways, offering short term relief, but long term harm. Counselling can help with addictions such as drugs, alcohol and gambling.
In my experience, people find that counselling gives them an opportunity to spend some time looking at where they are and where they are going in life. You may want to focus on a particular area, such as family or relationship issues in order to gain more clarity and insight.
In todays world, life is fast moving, fast paced, and this can lead to anxiety, stress and depression. For some, life can involve lots of change and this can be exciting. However, change also involves loss, which is often difficult. Too much unwanted change can feel like life is spiralling out of control. Counselling can help you to come to terms with life's challenges and help you take control, and make positive choices for the future.
COUNSELLING CAN:
- Increase your wellbeing and happiness, and in turn, that of those around you;
- Enable you enjoy more fulfilling relationships with other people;
- Help you to feel more in control of your life;
- Help you to feel more at ease with yourself;
- Help you to find solutions and reach decisions that work for you;
- Enable you to explore different choices and possibilities;
- Increase your self esteem, motivation and confidence.
- Help you process traumatic memories so you are free to live fully in the present
© Niki Ridgley
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