There are times in our lives when worry and stress become so unbearable that we know we need support, we may hesitate to see a counsellor believing that our problems should be sorted out by ourselves or with the help of family or friends however because of our relationship with these people if we reveal our deepest thoughts we may feel very uncomfortable seeing them again therefore a professional counsellor is often a better option.

A major life shock may have occurred such as :

• redundancy
• the ending of a relationship
• bereavement.

Sometimes other signs let us know that life is not as it should be and we may encounter:

• Feelings of unhappiness
• depression
• anger
• insomnia
• panic attacks or phobias

It gives an opportunity for  people to speak confidentially outside their everyday environment with an objective professional and be really listened to. Counselling gives you an opportunity to gain more self awareness and ultimately to work collaboratively towards living in a more satisfying and fulfilled way.

A counsellor provides you with the tools to help you deal with future problems.

Counselling won't offer direct advice but a counsellor will help you arrive at your own informed decisions by working with you collaboratively, providing you with feedback and appropriate information.

Also a counsellor can't help you feel better, however (s)he can accept and support you in whatever you are feeling and can help you move on from this and understand this in your own time.

Ultimately one of the aims of counselling is to help you become more fulfilled, within yourself or in certain facets of your life, part of my role as a counsellor is to help you make sense of your particular issues and the personal meaning you place on this and to help you find new choices in the way you relate to yourself, other people or situations.

Yes. The purpose of confidentiality is to provide you with safety and privacy.

Information enclosed is kept strictly confidential and would only be broken if there was a recognised risk of serious harm to you or another person. I only discuss my clients with my supervisor in order to ensure that I'm working to my best ability.

It is important for the client to be committed to the counselling process. Effort and determination are required in order to work productively.If a client is clear what they want to gain from counselling then they are half way to solving their problem.

In order for counselling to work effectively it is important that the client is as honest and accurate with their information as possible.

We decide if we can work together on the issues you bring to counselling.

This depends on what we agree together. I initially suggest 6 sessions thereafter I review our work and decide whether more sessions are needed.

The number of sessions will vary according to your needs.