Counsellor in London | Psychologist Counselling in London

Counselling refers to providing assistance or guidance to clients in decision making especially related to situations that have emotional significance. People in everyday lives provide assistance in resolving issues like counsellors but the true essence of the concept lies in professional counselling. A professional counsellor is a highly trained individual who can employ a number of counselling approaches with their clients. The main objective of counselling is to bring change in the client. Counselling helps people to solve their immediate problems and to equip them deal with future problems as well.

The main forms of counselling in London include:

1. Marriage and family counselling
2. Guidance and career counselling
3. Rehabilitation counselling
4. Mental health counselling
5. Substance abuse counselling
6. Educational counselling

---

Who can benefit from counselling in London?

Regardless of the mental health condition, anyone can heal and develop in many powerful ways by attending counselling sessions. Moreover, counselling can be proven beneficial for people belonging to different age, gender, nationality, culture etc. Dedication and effort from both parties, the counsellor and the client, is needed for the success of Counselling. If a client is not willing to change then it becomes difficult for a counsellor to bring change.

---

What issues are suited to Counselling in London?

Almost every problem that individuals face in their path towards goals can be solved by receiving assistance from a professional counsellor. However, the most common problems that are best suited to Counselling involve:

1. Depression and Anxiety
2. Anger management
3. Academic problems
4. Career concerns
5. Marital/Family issues
6. Stress management
7. Grief and Bereavement
8. Suicide
9. Substance Abuse
10. Eating problems
11. Self-esteem issues
12. Public speaking
13. Sexual problems

---

What to expect from your first counselling session?

People usually feel hesitant and scared in their first therapy session. It is perfectly right to feel this way.

1. Arrive on time: It is very important to arrive for session on time. This helps individuals to take full time for their session because counsellors have other appointments too.
2. Welcoming clients: When patients reach there, the counsellor welcomes you politely. The counsellor’s room usually has a comfortable couch on which client gets seated. Tables and chairs are also there. Counsellors usually ask clients to sit closer to them so that both can face each other in a better way. The Counsellor then tries to make clients comfortable by having a small talk.
3. Coming to the main issue: The counsellor asks clients about the issue or problem that has brought them there. The counsellor then asks general questions about the issues that client want to work on, the expectations of clients about counselling and whether they have attended Counselling sessions ever before.
4. Brief history: The counsellor then asks about personal history of the client. The personal history includes information about family, relationships, goals, life events, mental health history/physical health history and other everyday activities.
5. Explanation about sessions: The counsellor explains the working of sessions. The counsellor explains the types of counselling and features counselling types. The counsellors also provide information about available time slots and important policies. Counsellor also explain the usefulness of chosen counselling type to the client.
6. Clients ask questions: Clients then ask questions about qualification of counsellor, experience and certification if they want to.
7. Discussion about whether both can work together or not: counsellors and clients discuss about how well they expect to work together. Counsellors sometimes also recommend clients to see another professional if they think that they lack expertise to deal with a particular issues.

---

What is the difference between a Counsellor in London and a Psychotherapist?

In the United Kingdom, the differences between counsellors and psychotherapists are not very clear. Sometimes psychotherapists claim themselves as counsellors. On the other hand, some therapists integrate both counselling and psychotherapeutic techniques in their sessions. It is difficult to differentiate them but following are the key differences that can help in differentiating the two.

A counsellor focuses on present issues, problems and symptoms and how they affect lives of people. Counsellors do not dig deeper into the childhood. A counsellor can help people by equipping them with strategies to deal with immediate problems. This is the reason that session durations for counselling are much shorter than that of psychotherapy. Counselling can take many forms including individual counselling, couple counselling and group counselling. CBT and Person-Centered therapy are the most common techniques in counselling.

A psychotherapist takes a deeper approach as compared to counselling. Psychotherapists are more concerned about childhood experiences and how they shape the current personalities of clients. A psychotherapist focuses on bringing buried experiences to consciousness. This is a time taking process and this is the reason that psychotherapeutic sessions occur more frequently and remain continued for longer periods of time. The most important feature that differentiates the two is that psychotherapists deal with more complex mental health conditions as compared to counsellors. However, psychotherapists employ counselling techniques as well when required. The common types of psychotherapy are Psychodynamic psychotherapy and Jungian Psychotherapy.

---

What is the difference between a Counsellor and a Psychologist?

Counsellors and psychologists differ from each other based on educational background. A professional counsellor holds degree in counselling whereas as the psychologist has educational background of psychology. The main difference between the two is that counsellors usually work with less problematic or healthy individuals whereas psychologists work with problematic individuals. A psychologists works with more complex conditions such as personality disorders, learning disabilities and neurodevelopmental issues.

---

When to seek the help of a counsellor in London?

Everybody of us needs assistance at some point in life. Professional counselling can help people manage their life stressors and problems effectively. Following are some indications of the need of professional counselling:

1. Sometimes people start feeling that they need professional help to keep things under control. It is a very prominent sign that they need help. At that time, a counsellor can help them to solve problems.
2. Sometimes the conflicts in families and relationships start to get out of control. At that time, it is very effective to seek professional help from a counsellor to maintain harmony. Separation, parenting issues and elevated stress due to these conflicts are some of the issues that can be dealt effectively by seeking professional help.
3. Many people experience grief in their lives due to multiple reasons. The reasons include death of a loved one, academic failure, relationship failure and many more. It is healthy to grieve a loss but it becomes unhealthy when it starts to affect multiple domains of lives. So, a professional help should be considered to cope with the grief so that it does not become over-whelming.
4. People should keep it in mind that mutual respect is very crucial to healthy relationships. Sometimes people compromise their freedom to maintain relationships. This creates frustration which becomes unhealthy for people. At that time, seeking professional help to gain strength becomes extremely necessary.
5. Sometimes people face crisis in lives that leave them with no control over their leaves. This is the perfect time to seek help to remain healthy.
6. When the sadness becomes so overwhelming then people completely stop being optimistic. They stop being happy and hopeful. They start feeling tired for most of the time. This is another perfect time to seek professional help to get back to life.

---

What does counselling look like in practice?

Counselling can take different forms based on the type of intervention. It can occur in individual, family or group settings. It helps in dealing with a number of problems discussed earlier. People book their appointments with the counsellor. After paying fee, they attend first counselling session in which the both mutually decide that whether sessions should be continued or the client must be referred to some other professional. The duration of counselling is usually short not lasting more than 6 months.

---

What results can you expect from counselling sessions?

A number of useful results and benefits can be expected from counselling sessions. The most common of them include:

1. Improved self-esteem
2. Acceptance of oneself
3. Change in unhealthy behaviors
4. Better emotional management
5. Improved decision making
6. Effective stress management
7. Improved communication and conflict resolution

---

Legal bodies of the counsellor in London

British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is the largest legal body of counselling in the United Kingdom which provides opportunities of training to counsellor working in professional or volunteer settings. The association comprises of different membership categories. All members are bound by code of ethics for practice. In 2013, BACP Register achieved Accredited Voluntary Register status. It also spreads awareness about the usefulness of counselling in improving lives of people.

Other legal/professional bodies of counselling accredited by Professional Standards Authority (PSA) include Association of Christian Counsellor (ACC), Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland (COSCA) and The National Counselling Society (NCS) etc. United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for therapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors.

---

Getting Private Counselling from a Counsellor in London

Therapists from Counsellor in London

Counsellor in London Fees