What is counselling?
Simply having someone to share your troubles with can often be a great relief, but in the modern world people with the time and inclination to be good listeners are sometimes hard to find. This is the role of counselling and coaching.
A counsellor does more than just lend an empathetic ear. They will help you to see and understand the process by which we can become trapped in our own issues and unable to see the wood for the trees. This insight can often enable us to make positive choices instead of being powerless victims.
It provides a safe supportive environment to initially explore a range of issues. Counselling provides an objective, safe, confidential, non-judgemental and caring space to explore your issues.
It can be a means of helping you to deal with painful aspects of your life. Sometimes simply exploring issues can generate change and insight. Counselling offers a therapeutic relationship which will support you in your decision making and in drawing upon your own inner resources.
I combine the best aspects of Person Centred / Goal-Directed counselling and dynamically merge them with the best aspects of NLP and NLP Life Coaching where appropriate. This hybrid form of counselling can be an excellent precursor to more active forms of therapy such as Clinical Hypnotherapy or EMDR.
Counselling loosens the concrete and therapy rebuilds the house if that is required. Importantly if you do choose to undertake therapy there is no need to re-explain your issues. Counselling can also be used after the conclusion of formal therapy to tie up any loose ends.
Counselling can help with?
Anything that is worrying you and disrupting your normal work, study or personal life can be talked over in counselling. For example, problems with relationships, friendships, family issues, bereavement, anxiety, stress, depression, sexual problems, sleeplessness, substance misuse, eating problems, difficulties in concentrating or focussing on studies. Often clients are not sure why they are coming when they first arrive, they just know that things are not OK for them.
What actually happens?
Counselling is not about giving advice, but does explore your options fully. The counsellor is there to help you identify and understand the nature of the issue and the available solutions. The counsellor can help you to gain perspective and see things as they really are. This can enable you to make appropriate choices.
What is NLP Life Coaching?
Today you as well as many individuals, business executives, managers and entrepreneurs may be seeking ways to become more effective in business and have a more fulfilling, meaningful and balanced life.
Life coaching is not therapy as such – it seeks to help you to come to grips with those “big picture” issues that often follow-on after therapy. One of the key techniques used is Neuro Linguistic Programming and Humanistic Neuro Linguistic Psychology (HNLP). Coaching frequently follows-on from a period of therapy.
You may perhaps want to successfully refocus your life from what you “think” you “should” do to something more “meaningful” and discover a new sense of purpose.
You may be searching for a “balance” in your everyday life to be happier and more productive.
You may be feeling that you have paid too high a price for success and need to focus on the true costs, tangible and intangible.
How do I benefit from coaching?
You will probably find that you take yourself more seriously. An example is someone who hires a personal trainer / coach to get in physical shape. This person tends to be more successful than if they do it alone. Have you purchased any home gym equipment and only used it for a short period of time? Coaching helps you stay motivated to reach your goals.
You may find yourself more focused and effective in the things you do. Many people are out of focus due to the many stresses and challenges they face in their workday. I will be there to help you stay in focus.
You may feel yourself getting stronger and not allowing all of those old things that kept you down to weaken you. People or those small voices saying “you can’t do that”.
You might find yourself working faster in reaching your goals versus going at it by yourself. Coaching offers encouragement and support along the way.
You may start to focus less on what you “should do” and more on what “you want to do”. We have been conditioned our entire lives by others regarding what we should do. Fulfillment and happiness come from setting and reaching goals that “You” want.
Why does the coaching relationship work versus going it alone?
Because you are not alone. Coaching is a collaborative relationship that enables you to reach your goals faster than if you went it alone.
Goals that are established are typically better than if you did them alone. They are what you want, they fit your values.
Also with a coach you might find yourself taking more risks and evolving into the person you want to be. You might find that courage and encouragement to “think outside the box”.