What is psychotherapeutic counselling?

 

There are broadly two types of counselling - the first one offers an element of support where there is a lot of advice giving, ie debt counselling, career counselling .

 

However psychotherapeutic counselling is different. Counselling involves a series of formal sessions where the therapist and the client talk about the client’s issues and feelings. Even short-term therapy typically involves six to 12 sessions. The sessions take place at a regular, agreed time and in a ‘safe’, private place, within a confidential relationship. Psychotherapeutic counselling relies on the client and therapist establishing a  therapeutic relationship, working at a level of depth that is very different from general listening and advice giving.

 

What to expect from psychotherapeutic counselling

 

Psychotherapeutic counselling may involve reflecting upon life events, feelings, emotions, relationships, ways of thinking and patterns of behaviour. Your therapist will listen, encourage and empathise, but will also challenge to help you to see the issues more clearly or from a different perspective. This often helps with processing emotions, and releasing difficult feelings.

 

Counselling is not about giving advice or opinions, and whilst it is friendly it is certainly not a chat with a friend!  A psychotherapeutic counsellor will help you to understand yourself better and find your own solutions to resolve or cope with your situation.

 

Other psychotherapies such as CBT/DBT and EMDR often have a more directive approach to therapy, whereas psychotherapeutic counselling is more facilitative of helping you to find your own way through attentive listening, reflection and challenge.  We are all different in how we respond to the difficulties that we face in life and psychotherapeutic counselling is very respectful of this.

 

Psychotherapeutic counselling can be very effective in the  short term (6-12 sessions), however some clients choose to work in this way for longer periods of time, depending upon the issues that they are working through, and if the events are more deeply rooted in the past.

 

I am interested in finding out more about Psychotherapeutic Counselling with Nicola at Nine Wellbeing. What should I do?

 

You can make an enquiry via the contact page.

 

Nicola Forshaw holds a Masters Degree in Counselling (with distinction), a diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and a certificate in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.  Nicola is a highly experienced trauma/PTSD therapist and is and is fully qualified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing). She is accredited by BACP (British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy), and is also a registered member.