Counselling
Is counselling the answer to all human difficulties?
No, it does not claim to be, but it does offer the opportunity for people to explore different ways of looking at their lives and move toward more effective ways of coping.
Whoever the person is; whatever their age; whatever the situation or problem they are facing; whether they are worried, depressed, confused, suffering from low-self-esteem, trying to cope with unexpected change or crisis or just wanting to make some changes in their lives, it can always be helpful for the person concerned to be able to talk things over, in confidence, with an understanding and well trained “outsider.”
The task of counselling is to give the you the client an opportunity to explore, discover and clarify ways of living more resourcefully and towards greater well-being.
There are times in most of our lives when we experience distressing events and feelings which seem to have no end solution is sight. Sometimes we know that our feelings are due to particular circumstances such as, marital stress, bereavement or illness, at others we may have no idea what is making us feel the way we do; all we know is that our lives have become uncomfortable, difficult or even seem intolerable.
Counselling can help people clarify their thoughts and feelings so that they can arrive at their own decisions, or even make major changes in their lives. DMcG
Counselling is essentially a lively, human and personal experience between two people. Therefore, it is a process which requires commitment of time and effort from both parties. The aim is for the counsellor to help the client find their own answers and to become more in charge of their lives rather than less so; to be able to live their own life rather than be lived by it.
Counselling is different from other kinds of help where an individual might become, appropriately at times, the object of diagnosis or assessment and are then told what to do.
Good objective listening is the basis of all counselling. This kind of listening to all aspects of a person’s situation can help them to discover more about themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, values and priorities and not only find their own solutions but also carry them out; take some action for themselves.
Counselling is not an easy process because it often entails digging below the surface and talking about things, we feel uncomfortable about and tend to push aside in everyday life. Although disturbing, it can also be a relief to air half-buried ideas and deal with feelings in a positive manner.
It might be helpful to think of the counselling process as an opportunity to take risks that we are not usually able to do in our day-to-day lives because it might seem bizarre or silly. Ideas, thoughts, feelings that others, or even part of we disapprove of can be aired, explored and contemplated in the privacy of the counselling relationship.
Not only is such thinking perfectly acceptable but it is necessary if we are to gain deeper understanding of ourselves and more meaning in our lives.
Derek holds Diploma’s in Counselling Skills and Advanced Counselling Skills, Counselling is also embedded in his other Diploma’s he holds in Life coaching, CBT mindfulness, Hypnotherapy and has attended various workshops about counselling.
He is trained to deal with additive behaviours, change management, relationship counselling, family counselling and works with other agencies.
Comments from Clients
“Derek is one of the kindest and selfless people I have met. He has the balance right in being able to support someone, recognize their pace and readiness for change, and the ability to tailor his approach accordingly, to gently move them forwards. Having gone through a huge amount of personal change and self development, this has developed his empathy skills. He is a skilled coach and counsellor who has the aptitude of being able to see things from a variety of perspectives. With his happy go lucky nature he builds rapport quickly and puts those he works with at ease.” JM.
