What is Counselling
Counselling or therapy is a process designed to help you resolve or overcome the issues that you face, be they big or small. Counselling deals with current life issues or issues from your past that may be effecting you today.
Counselling and therapy is delivered in a safe, ethical, non-judgemental environment where you will be empathically treated and guided towards the goals you wish to achieve in a non-directive manner. Importance in placed on helping the client find the solutions right for them.
How can counselling help you
A counsellor is someone trained to listen to you in a non-judgmental and respectful way. He or she will listen carefully, gain understanding of your issues and strategise how to help your resolve your difficulties.
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A counsellor does not hand out advice, they work with you on the understanding that you know what is best for you. A counsellor does not expect you to have the answers but is trained to help you find them and resolve your issues in a healthy and safe environment.
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Counselling can be difficult and sometimes upsetting, it can also be empowering and strengthening. Seeing a counsellor does not mean that you are failing in life, in fact it is a brave healthy step to take and means you are moving towards the goals you want in your life.
Anything from a small to large issues can be discussed with a counsellor, and it is often more helpful to discuss your issues with a neutral person such as a counsellor than a friend or family member.
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The purpose of counselling is for you to understand and overcome your difficulties, to actively take control of your life, to improve your relationships, and to relieve emotional stress.
To encourage self-acceptance and self-awareness, we work in different ways depending on how you wish to express yourself.
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Throughout the therapeutic process, the therapist attempts to help both partners see the relationship in a more objective manner. They learn to stop the "blame game" and instead look at what happens to them as a process involving each partner. They also can benefit from seeing that their relationship takes place in a certain context. For example, couples who struggle financially will be under different kinds of situational stresses than those who are not.
Effective couples therapists attempt to change the way that the partners actually behave with each other. This means that in addition to helping them improve their interactions, therapists also need to ensure that their clients are not engaging in actions that can cause physical, psychological, or economic harm
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Depression, Self Esteem and anxiety disorders can often be treated similarly. In many cases, therapy can be tailored to an individual so that it works to reduce the symptoms of these disorders.
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Advance care planning gives everyone a chance to say what’s important to them. It helps people understand what the future might hold and to say what treatment they would and would not want. It helps people, their families and their healthcare teams plan for future and end of life care.
If you have a terminal illness, or are approaching the end of your life, it may be a good idea to make plans for your future care.
Planning ahead in this way is sometimes called "advance care planning", and involves thinking and talking about your wishes for how you are cared for in the final months of your life.
People usually carry out advance planning because they have a condition that is expected to get worse, which may mean they will not be able to make or communicate their decisions in the future.
Anyone can plan for their future care, whether they are approaching the end of life or not. Advance care planning can let people know your wishes and feelings while you're still able to.
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Most people feel sad from time to time, often when something upsetting or stressful is happening such as a relationship break-up, or losing a job.
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Feeling down in response to difficult situations is normal, and usually the feelings fade over time as people adjust and create a new way forward. If feelings of unhappiness are intense and persistent - and they don’t go away even when things improve - this could be depression.
Depression can be triggered by a difficult situation in your life, can build up over many years, be caused by genetic or chemical predisposition to depression and sometimes there’s no obvious reason.
Exogenous depression is feeling depressed due to circumstances. Endogenous depression is chemical or genetic based depression.
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Every one is different however if symptoms of depression such as constantly feeling down or hopeless and having little interest or pleasure in doing things you used lasts for more than two weeks take action to get the support you need.
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Getting help is the bravest and smartest thing you can do. Seek medical advice, speak to people you love and trust and get counselling.
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The good news is you can find happiness again regardless of the type of depression you’re experiencing.
Together I can help you work out your symptoms triggers and strategies and create the life you want.
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Anxiety can can come in many forms, such as fear, repetitive negative thoughts and discomfort in the body.
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Although some anxiety is a normal human response to stress, when the anxiety isn't managed successfully it can result in constant feelings of worry and stress, increased heartbeat, feeling unable to cope, repetitive negative feelings, avoiding situations that cause stress, sleeplessness, irrational behaviours, and even aggression.
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If you are feeling; Confusion, Trembling, Sweating, Faintness/dizziness, Rapid heartbeat, Difficulty breathing, Upset stomach or nausea, Restlessness, Avoidance behaviour, or Irritability, it is possible you are suffering from anxiety.
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Real life counselling can assist with the treatment and management of anxiety, to help sufferers, take control of their anxiety levels and more effectively process the triggers that cause anxiety.
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Stress can be a natural response to events, it is when stress feels out of control that this natural instinct can start to negatively effect us and cause a range of physical and psychological issues.
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Stress can result in issues such as; Inability to concentrate, negative thoughts, anxious or racing thoughts, constant worrying, moodiness, irritability or short temper, agitation, inability to relax, feeling overwhelmed, depression and unhappiness, tiredness, nausea, and dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, loss of sex drive, frequent colds, diet changes, lack of sleep or too much sleep, and drug use.
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At Real life counselling we assess both the cause of stress and the client's ability to manage stress and work with the client to help them control their stress responses or change the situation that is causing their stress.
over 20 years of
Social Work & Counselling EXPERIENCE
I have the guidance skills you need.