Counselling as a therapy and therapeutic process does not provide a cure to a person’s mental illness nor aims to solve life’s challenges. However, counselling can help improve a person’s quality of life whether this means exploring relationship issues or perception of self as one gets older or coping with a disability or chronic health condition. Some other ways of ‘doing’ change in counselling are described below (AIFS, 2016).
Positive expectations and hope
Relationship factors (trust, caring)
Permission to explore new areas
Telling a personal story
Feeling understood and heard
Facing fears
Reduction of stress
New insights and understandings
Suggestions for problem solving
Focus on present, past and future
Social support
New options and alternatives
Understanding past behaviour
Future planning
A therapist may use a number of counselling therapies or approaches in working with a person through their problem or challenge and in that process, facilitate self-understanding for their client.
What makes a difference for you in counselling?