Counselling and Psychotherapy

The point of counselling is to create an environment where individuals, couples or even families can explore their issues in a safe, comfortable and confidential setting with a professional who will help them find a more resourceful and satisfying way of living.

There are many different approaches to counselling and psychotherapy all with a different emphasis or focus. The following is a brief explanation and overview of the main categories of theoretical approaches.

(Person centred)
            (Humanistic)
This approach believes in the worth and ability of individuals to make their own decisions about their lives and the direction they want to go in. It also believes that everyone is driven instinctively to grow psychologically and constantly try to improve his or her circumstances. The term used to describe this phenomenon is called “Self actualisation” meaning to reach our full potential. It further believes by offering three core conditions that this can be achieved. They are as follows :-

1. Congruence 
This about the therapist being authentic with the client and not about hiding behind a mask of the professional or colluding with the client to gain favour with them rather than being real or honest about how they experience the client. Similar principle “to only a best or true friend will tell you the truth about yourself”.

2. Unconditional Positive Regard 
This is about respecting the individual regardless of how their values differ from your own. The key word here is about accepting people as they are even if you disapprove of their actions. Their actions will make perfect sense in their world based on their own experiences, abilities, resources and understanding.

3. Empathy
This is different to sympathy it is about seeing things from the client’s individual perspective.

Overall this approach emphasises total respect of the individual and the belief that given the right conditions all people will successfully strive to reach their full potential.

Existential
(Humanistic)
This approach has a strong philosophical element to it that makes it very unique. It concentrates on the human condition of each one of us as being alone in the world regardless of our circumstances. The approach has very much to do with the search for the meaning of life as individuals, also understanding our values in the light of being finite. By accepting certain “givens” in life such as death being inevitable it is possible to find greater meaning to life.

There are many techniques used to discover and expand our understanding of ourselves and of our relationship to the world around us.

The whole point of this approach is to become more genuine and to live authentic and more fulfilling lives.

  
Psychodynamic
The emphasis of this approach is the part played by our subconscious mind and how it affects our current behaviour and values held. It looks at our childhood and believes that our experiences have a profound effect on shaping our character and belief system. Sometimes these beliefs are obvious and other times quite hidden from our conscious awareness. This approach believes that different parts of subconscious mind are often in conflict and therefore influence our instinctive behaviours. Whilst growing up we also develop defence mechanisms that make perfect sense as a child but are then frequently inappropriate in our adult life, however once patterns are formed they remain as automatic responses to certain situations until they are specifically tackled and reprogrammed.

The therapist who specialises in this approach will normally keep his or her own personality separate from the relationship and try to be a blank sheet through which the client can work out their issues.

Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
The focus of this approach is related to the here and now and spends little or no time focussing on the past. It is a combination of two therapies, Cognitive where the focus is on the thinking processes such as core beliefs, unwanted thoughts and interpretations of events, and also Behavioural where the focus is on the behaviour in response to those automatic thoughts.

It is a very structured approach designed to change negative or unrealistic ways of thinking, learning to challenge them and therefore changing the way you feel about those events more positively.
            
The skills and techniques learnt during a course of CBT generally give people the ability to become their own therapist for the future.

Transpersonal
This approach describes any form of counselling or therapy that places emphasis on spirituality, human potential or heightened consciousness. It includes Psychosynthesis a relatively new approach that is sometimes described as "psychology of the soul". The aims are to integrate or "synthesize" the level of consciousness at which thoughts and emotions are experienced but emphasising a higher spiritual level of consciousness. A variety of techniques can be used including art therapy to recognize and value different facets of the personality. Psychosynthesis is useful for people seeking a new and more spiritually oriented vision of themselves.