The Full Story
What To Expect
You may be new to counselling and, therefore, anxious about what to expect from this new experience. In this brief section I will attempt to put your mind at ease. Counselling is, basically, a simple process. The counsellor provides a safe environment in which the client (or clients) can discuss confidentially whatever they need to discuss. The counsellor will be non-judgemental and empathic. It is not my role to tell you what to do. Instead I will provide a structure in which you can discuss your problems and guide you towards finding your own solutions. You are the only expert on you. Just as your problems are within you, so are the solutions.
Needs Assessment
Your first session with me is, strictly speaking, not a counselling session. It is a needs assessment. During this meeting there will be a lot of paper work to be gotten through.
Firstly, I will gather some basic information about you, mainly contact details and any relevant health information.
Secondly, I will inform you of my confidentiality agreement and its limitations. (These limitations are outlined in a separate paragraph below).
Thirdly, I will guide you through a long questionnaire, which is designed to build up a detailed picture of you and your presenting issues. This questionnaire may help you to recognise other areas of concern which you hadn’t originally considered as being problematic.
Subsequent Sessions
Whereas I will have asked you a lot of questions during our needs assessment, you will now be in a position to lead the conversation wherever you believe it needs to go. I will follow you where you need to take the conversation, rather than trying to lead you. If you need help getting started I will provide helpful prompts which will enable you to circle in on your main concerns.
When Will We Be Finished?
It is up to the client to decide when to stop seeing me. I will stay with you as long as you need me to. However, if I feel the sessions are no longer benefitting you, I am ethically obliged to discuss the possibility of ending them.
