How Does Counseling Work?
How Does Counseling work?
People seek counseling for many different reasons. Counseling may include individual, group, and/or family sessions. Counseling, however is very much a process!
Counseling (or therapy, psychotherapy) is the process of meeting with a therapist (or counselor) in order to reduce internal suffering which occurs in the form of problematic behaviors, beliefs, feelings and somatic responses (sensations in the body). In addition, ongoing psychotherapy is a useful means of self-growth and self-discovery. It is meant to help you build coping skills to be able to handle negative experiences and emotions. Together with a counselor, you will learn, grow, explore, unpack and understand yourself, your world your suffering and your experiences with new perspective, insight and clarity. Therapy can also help people to resolve barriers which interfere with positive qualities such as joy, compassion, peace, self-esteem, spiritual connection and love. Many people enjoy therapy and relish the journey of becoming more conscious about themselves, their inner world and their relationships. Therapy can also be an effective tool in overcoming the effects of trauma and abuse.
You and your therapist will meet together weekly for 45-minute sessions. Therapy is best done with at least an 8-week commitment. We find that clients who cannot commit to at least 8 weekly sessions and meet less than weekly tend to have more difficulty in establishing a relationship with their therapist and often spend their sessions recapping the previous weeks instead of focusing on forward movement (but there are exceptions). Despite the 8 week recommendation the process and therapy is a unique process and is discussed during the intake and assessment phase. After 8 weekly sessions, you and your therapist can discuss the movement toward your treatment goals and whether reducing sessions to biweekly or terminating therapy is the next step as this a process that is very personalized to everyones unique situation.
Here's what to expect:
Intake & Assessment: 1-3 Sessions
Treatment
Together, in each subsequent session, your counselor will give space for you to be able to talk and work through the sitaution, problem, truama, grief or stressor that brought you to counseling. The counselor will use various strategies from DBT techniques, CBT, art therapy,and homework that promote healthy communication, emotional expression, improved problem solving skills and much more.
Termination: Final Session
Phasing Out
What's my role as a client?
Your main responsibilities are to attend your scheduled individual and/or group sessions with a commitment to learning about yourself, how you relate to others, and how you can make changes in your life to reach your desired goals.
formulating your goals and developing a plan for meeting them, you will benefit most from entering counseling with a commitment to actively making positive changes in your life. You may find it helpful to note cirucmstatnces, relationships, or events in your life that are troubling or create problems for you. Your counselor may ask you to consider the process by which these situations negatively affect you and may encourage you to try a new startegy or to experiment with different approaches to help you achieve the positive change you are seeking.