HOW WE CAN HELP YOU
The key to making any change in your life begins with a desire to do so. The good news is that having sought out counselling you have already made that first step towards change. Virtue Counselling offers you an opportunity to continue this journey with a trained professional who can assist you in achieving your desired outcome. Virtue counselling adopts an integrated approach, drawing on the best aspects of person-centred, psychodynamic and existential therapies. Your counsellor will work with you to explore which avenue is best suited to your individual needs.
A person-centred approach uses the healing relationship between counsellor and client to create a greater sense of shared experience, allowing the counsellor to walk in the shoes of their client, enabling them to gain a greater sense of understanding and empathy. Through self-reflection, you will begin to understand your own concerns and feelings in a much deeper way, empowering you to confront your concerns.
Common problems that Virtue have helped clients with include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Stress
- Self-Esteem
- Eating Disorders
- Self-Harm
- Sexual and Emotional abuse
- Family breakdowns
- Bereavement
- Long-Term illness
- Relationship issues
- Workplace issues
- Bullying
- Existential concerns.
WHAT IS COUNSELLING?
Counselling is a process that can provide you with the tools and the power to help you explore what is happening in your life. It can assist you in identifying areas which you feel you would like to change, and enable you to implement those changes in a safe and non-judgmental environment.
As with all people in life, counsellors have been on their own journeys and have experienced their own difficulties. This experience is often what drives a counsellor to wanting to help others obtain their freedom. Throughout your journey with us you should be aware that you may change your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. You may challenge areas of your life, the quality of your relationships and other aspects which you had not previously considered. This is perfectly normal and can be an empowering experience. Counselling has numerous positive benefits to your emotional health and wellbeing which can impact all aspects of your daily life, if you are willing to undertake and make the changes to become the person you want to be.
Your counsellor is experienced in helping individuals who present with a variety of emotional and social needs. He will use this to enable you to overcome self-identified concerns within your life, whether they are in the past, present or future.
Different theoretical approaches used at Virtue Counselling include but are not limited to:
Person Centred
Psychodynamic and
Existential.
The BACP (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists) define these as:
"Person or client-centred therapy is based on the view that everyone has the capacity and desire for personal growth and change, given the right conditions. Rather than being seen as the expert and directing the therapy, the counsellor offers unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence to help you come to terms with any negative feelings and to change and develop in your own way."
"The psychodynamic approach is derived from psychoanalysis, but focuses on immediate problems to try to provide a quicker solution. It stresses the importance of the unconscious and past experience in shaping current behaviour. A therapist will aim to build an accepting and trusting relationship, encouraging you to talk about your childhood relationships with your parents and other significant people. It also uses similar techniques to psychotherapy, including free association, interpretation and especially transference, where feelings you experienced in previous significant relationships are projected onto the therapist."
"Existential psychotherapy explores the inner conflict and anxiety people may experience when confronted with life's ultimate concerns, such as the inevitability of death, freedom and its responsibilities, isolation and meaninglessness. Existentialists believe that life has no essential (given) meaning and that you have to make your own sense of the world. Counsellors can help you confront your anxieties and negative thoughts, enabling you to make decisions about how to live life and deal with life problems in your own way."
If you wish to know more about other approaches then click here.
