Thank you for joining me for this week’s blog! I often get asked why I believe in what I do and how I do it. That’s the focus for this blog – I am going to share why I think counselling really does work and why that belief actually starts with who you are as a client.
Why do I believe in counselling and why does it work?
I have come to believe in counselling through my own personal experience, as well as watching my clients progress.
My personal encounter with counselling started out rough – I had a bad experience and it actually provoked me to learn more about the world of counselling. I didn’t feel “heard” and felt like the therapist was saying things they thought were the right thing to say. This fueled me to learn more and understand what makes counselling work – if it’s done correctly.
Through my schooling, I learned about the research and science behind counselling, which gave me the knowledge that I needed to start believing. But it was only in finding my own voice and style that I could actually see it making a difference in people’s lives. My clients were looking for someone to connect with, someone that was human and focused on listening. My focus then became building the relationship with the client and helping them to see the strength they had within themselves.
As our team at Simply Counselling has worked with many different clients, we have noticed a few things we can do, which leads our clients to success:
- Build solid relationships,
- Be genuine and open,
- Keep things simple, and
- Maintain a belief that each person has the capabilities to be the best versions of themselves, or “the client is the expert”.
What does “the client is the expert” mean?
The “client is the expert” is another way of saying that you are the expert in your own experience and therefore have the answers to the challenges you might be facing.
I believe that you know what is best for yourself and what will fit perfectly into your life. Your own experiences in life are actually the key to the solutions you might be looking for. Our job then as counsellors, is to help you discover which solution makes the most sense and to help it fit, and we will do this by framing the struggles in a way that can lead you to the answers. This means that you already have the answers you are looking for – which is excellent news.
This also means that when you meet with our team, we do not have a predetermined agenda or approach to help you – we are simply ready to listen. Once we’ve truly heard you, we can support you in a way that suits you, and only you.
In my next blog, I will be starting a feature on stress. It’s something we all experience at some point, and I believe it can be easily and simply managed. Stay tuned for the next blog, where I start our focus on what stress looks and feels like!
If you haven’t had a chance yet, make sure you enter your email below to stay in the loop, as we will soon be offering free resources in addition to future blogs.
If you are interested in counselling or would like to speak to a member of our team, please contact us, we would be happy to speak with you.