Different counsellors will have different approaches and it can get confusing trying to figure out all the academic jargon, in order to decide which counselling approach may work for you.
Now, I could say something like “I use the integrative approach which at times may mean that I combine a bit of Gestalt with the Psychodynamic theory in order to understand your attachment style with your primary caregiver and how that presents in the counselling room”, which may give you some idea of how I might work in a specific session (although it may also sound like absolute waffle), but it doesn’t give you an overall understanding of how I would support you throughout the counselling process and whether that will work for you or not.
Therefore, I’d rather break it down in a way that relates to you and what you will experience within the session and the reasoning behind it, so that you can see if this is an approach that sits well with you or not.
So let me explain my approach to you.
The approach that I implement is a combination of different theories, which allows me to use a wider range of theoretical skills that can be tailored to each individual. What this means for you is that I can tailor our sessions according to your specific needs and wants. This makes sessions with each client unique and aligned to their agenda rather than being restricted to a specific theoretical branch.
I value the relationship between myself and my client and use this as a foundation upon which we start and continue our work. What this means is that I see every client, as a unique individual deserving of respect and acceptance and therefore when I listen to you, I am truly listening to you and not just listening to try and insert you into a specific theoretical box.
You deserve to be heard and my aim is to do so wholeheartedly. I will also ask questions about what you’ve told me to gain further clarity for yourself and for me. I want to reiterate that this is done gently and from a place of acceptance and done so in order to gain a better understanding and clarification of what you are telling me, what I am hearing, and what we are both understanding. This may also allow you to receive an objective point of view or another angle of insight within your situation that may be difficult to see when deep emotions are understandably involved.
Counselling is never about pushing or forcing you to make changes or decisions that you are unwilling or not ready to make, whatever the reasons may be. From the moment we start working together to the moment we finish working together, your choice will be imperative.
For this reason, I won’t be advising you or telling you what to do. Those ideas and thoughts will always come from you. However, I will help you explore the choices that you make and the feelings that arise from them as well as how you feel things will pan out if you do choose any specific options and what feelings will arise from that too. We can also look at your past to see where thoughts, feelings and behaviours may have originated from and how that is impacting your current life experiences in the present.
Again, you are the driver who will decide which path to follow and I will be the passenger who has been given the privilege of coming along with you on your journey and will support you throughout until you are ready to continue the journey without me.
This journey really is all about you and why shouldn’t it be? You deserve to have the support you need to help you live the life that you want and deserve to have.
I hope that’s helped you understand my approach a little better. If you have any questions about my approach or the counselling process, please feel free to leave a comment or message me via the contact me page.
