Individual/1 to 1 Therapy
‘Clients have all the resources they need to solve their problem; it is the function of the therapist to utilise the client’s potential, not to provide the answer.’
What is Counselling?
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) defines counselling as follows:
Counselling takes place when a counsellor sees a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having, distress they may be experiencing or perhaps their dissatisfaction with life, or loss of a sense of direction and purpose. It is always at the request of the client as no one can properly be ’sent’ for counselling. Counselling is a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion. It does not involve giving advice or directing a client to take a particular course of action. Counsellors do not judge or exploit their clients in any way.
In the counselling sessions the client can explore various aspects of their life and feelings, talking about them freely and openly in a way that is rarely possible with friends or family. Bottled up feelings such as anger, anxiety, grief and embarrassment can become very intense and counselling offers an opportunity to explore them, with the possibility of making them easier to understand. The counsellor will encourage the expression of feelings and as a result of their training will be able to accept and reflect the client’s problems without becoming burdened by them.
Models of counselling
Although there is considerable consensus about the core content of a counselling course, there are nevertheless distinct methods of counselling. Most courses start from a theoretical base - typically humanistic, psychodynamic, cognitive or behavioural. Before choosing a counsellor it is often worth investigating their theoretical approach and level of competence/qualification.
Counselling or psychotherapy?
Again the BACP suggests: It is not possible to make a generally accepted distinction between counselling and psychotherapy. There are well founded traditions which use the terms interchangeably and others which distinguish between them. If there are differences, then they relate more to the individual psychotherapist’s or counsellor’s training and interests and to the setting in which they work, rather than to any intrinsic difference in the two activities. A psychotherapist working in a hospital is likely to be more concerned with severe psychological disorders than with the wider range of problems about which it is appropriate to consult a counsellor. In private practice, however, a psychotherapist is more likely to accept clients whose need is less severe. Similarly, in private practice a counsellor’s work will overlap with that of a psychotherapist. Those counsellors, however, who work for voluntary agencies or in educational settings such as schools and colleges usually concentrate more on the ‘everyday’ problems and difficulties of life than on the more severe psychological disorders. Many are qualified to offer therapeutic work which in any other context would be called psychotherapy.
The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) suggests that: There are many similarities between these disciplines, and it is very hard to explain the differences between them. There is usually a general understanding that a psychotherapist has had longer training that a counsellor, and can work with a wider range of clients/patients. Psychotherapy is often considered to take longer and go deeper. But there are also exceptions to every rule and there is no set difference. The UKCP now has a Psychotherapeutic Counselling section that ensures its registrants are up to the same training standard as other UKCP psychotherapists.
The best therapist for you?
Individuals who seek a ‘talking’ therapy can initially be met with large amounts of therapeutic jargon that can confuse the person, ‘medicalise’ their symptoms and create unnecessary complications and differences. Therapy is most effective when there is a good working relationship between the patient and therapist.
It should be recognised that the person seeking therapy is frequently in a very vulnerable place to start with, makes it even more important that all involved in treatment ensure that, when an individual seeks support by way of psychotherapy or counselling, that this is made as simple as possible.
At treatment-now.com we have researched the most effective and well qualified therapists in your area and have spoken to each individual therapist to assess their level of competence and experience in particular fields. We will only work with BACP or UKCP registered therapists in the UK (and appropriately qualified and registered therapists abroad).
In most cases we know the therapists personally and have worked with them over a number of years.
We will of course remain in contact with you during your treatment so will be available at all times to support you should you ever feel that the therapist is not providing what you need.
For an informal discussion about Individual Therapy available in your area please call treatment-now.com on