Counselling : What you need to know

Counselling is a professional relationship providing a confidential space, in which you can talk through issues affecting your life with someone trained to help you.

Professional, qualified counsellors have skills to help people in many situations. Most counselling sessions are done through regular meetings over a period of time and counsellors will work with the issues that you bring and towards the goals that you have set.

Some counsellors may have additional training and experience in specialist areas such as bereavement, addiction, trauma or children and young people.

Although there are many types of counselling, all counsellors should offer;

• a safe place to talk
• empathetic listening
• a supportive relationship
• a process to reflect and consider your thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

Is having counselling a sign of weakness or failure?

Having counselling or any type of bereavement support is not a sign of weakness or failure. In fact it takes courage to be open to yourself and others about what is going on in your life and to seek professional help. Asking for help or support when you are bereaved is a way to help you along your bereavement journey and is a positive step towards grieving healthily. 

How do I find a counsellor I can trust?

Make sure the counsellor you choose is on a register of counsellors overseen by the government via the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Anyone on the PSA register will be trained and committed to ethical practice.

You can find registered professional counsellor registers on the PSA website. Search for the type of counselling you are looking for or the region where you live.CLICK HERE.

You can also access a counsellor through;

• your GP
• workplace or school
• the Association of Christian Counsellors
• in the Bereavement Services section of this website - CLICK HERE to search for support local to you. Look for accredited counsellors - they will be trained to the standards if the profession and required to maintain a high standard of professional by continuing professional development as part of a requirement of their membership. Look for BACP or UKCP.

What to expect from a counsellor

Counsellors should provide you with a contract in your first session and clearly explain:

• the services they offer and what they charge
• their confidentiality policy and boundaries
• the professional bodies that they are registered with and their ethical code (see above).