Consider CBT treatment to help with relationship problems
Counselling and Psychotherapy: What is it and what kind of psychotherapist do I need to find for my particular issue?
Do I need to have Counselling?
It is better not to get overwhelmed regarding the distinction between these 2 approaches of referring to a therapist. In the event that you are seeking assistance on an established site like BACP, UKCP or The Counselling Directory, then you can feel confident that whether a therapist describes him or herself as a counsellor, psychotherapist or counsellor and psychotherapist, that this person will have been required to to provide evidence of their credentials, to be admitted onto the website.
Just what is counselling or psychotherapy?
You might like to think of therapy as a healing relationship simply because this is effectively what it is. All counselors receive training in learning how to listen to a person as they speak about a particular predicament or experiences they are having and to ask questions which could stimulate a helpful exploration of something that has developed into a challenge.
What kind of counseling do I require for my situation?
There are countless different kinds of therapy models available, that it can be extremely confusing to work out which will be best for you and your particular difficulty: Psychodynamic or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Person-Centred or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) or Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), or Transactional Analysis (TA), Gestalt, Jungian, etc. etc. You may likely be relieved to learn that much research now establishes that the therapeutic "relationship" is most likely indicator of a favorable outcome, regardless of therapeutic model. Accordingly, if you are trying to find some support at the moment, concern oneself less about the "type" of therapy on offer and focus more on seeking out a person with whom you feel you can connect.
How do I pick a therapist?
It is a good strategy to see at least 3 people whenever you are searching for a therapist and to see just how you feel as you sit and talk with each other. Many psychotherapists will offer a free initial chat on the telephone or in person, so you may discover that 20-30 minutes is adequate time to explore if you sense a connection.
How can I make sure I have decided on the right therapist for me?
It is worth keeping in mind that counseling can really help you to resolve interpersonal challenges, so even if you don't really feel a great initial connection with a therapist, if you are brave enough to voice this and talk about it, this might really help you to read this article build a much better relationship in therapy as well as broadening your relational capacities with people who appear different in your life generally. Think about this example:
J, a young woman in her early twenties meets male counselor L, in his late fifties, for 20 minutes after work to start to explain her difficulties in being confident with work colleagues. L listens carefully to J and because he does not seem to provide her any
immediate solutions or to say much, she supposes that he can not assist her and that he is not genuinely interested in her headaches at work. Since J's father left her mother when J was 2, she hasn't grown up with a father helpful resources around and perhaps she has little experience of relating with a more mature male, a man who represents the kind of age her very own father would be. J could choose to find a different counselor with whom she feels a more "comfortable" connection or she could stay with this situation and potentially get to know a lot about herself with the help of her working relationship with therapist L. She could learn how to connect well with L and this in turn may perhaps even begin to help her challenges in being assertive at work. Perhaps J has underlying difficulties regarding self-belief and self-confidence as a result of growing up in the absence of a father figure and perhaps she is curious about therapist L as well as being a little frightened?
These are just a handful of ideas about how a therapeutic relationship in itself might help a man or woman to resolve personal difficulties. So if you have started working with a professional and you are feeling unsure about your choice of counselor, then it might be very beneficial if you can bear to speak about this at your next session. You may well be very dumbfounded at how your therapist responds and he or she might even help you to understand more about this doubt. It is essential to bear in mind that therapeutic training focuses upon matters including frustrations in relating to others, so a therapist is an ideal person to help you delve into your relational behaviour and how elements of it may detrimentally affect your capacity to connect effectively to people.
If you wish to explore counselling at The Hove Counselling Practice, then please call for a no cost initial chat or her response email to arrange a free initial meeting.
The Hove Counselling Practice - Brighton and Hove Psychotherapy,
126 Shirley Street, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 3WG, UK
https://thehovecounsellingpractice.co.uk
01273 917732