What to Expect In Counselling

If you haven’t had counselling before, the idea may seem daunting. The thought that you are going to meet a complete stranger and divulge your worries and issues and perhaps inner most thoughts and feelings for some just seems a bit too much to expect. But the fact is, by talking to someone (a counsellor) who doesn’t know your life’s story, the chance to divulge and not be judged in the process can be a cathartic experience.

The session allows you to verbalise your worries, inner thoughts and feelings (which you may never have done before) helping to acknowledge to yourself that with support, you can either accept, or reframe how you perceive certain situations.

First Intake Session:

The first intake session involves your counsellor asking lots of questions about you, your family, your history so they can get to know you and help to understand what it is that is concerning you. So don’t expect the counsellor to solve all your issues in the first session. During this session, goals of what you would like to achieve are discussed and agreed to.

How many counselling sessions will I need?

Everyone’s situation is different and their issues will vary and how they respond to a particular therapy will vary too. A client’s determination in working to accept, reframe or change their thoughts, emotions and or responses will be different and unique for each person and that may mean you need less or more sessions. However, as counsellors, we reflect collaboratively with you as the client, following 5 or 6 sessions, to ensure you’re on track. This doesn’t mean it’s always easy, as making adjustments or accepting our thoughts and behaviours can be challenging and requires conscious consideration and practice.

Before any counselling takes place, it is a legal requirement that you complete the Informed Consent Form and Registration Form found below: