Which type of counselling is best for me?

Since qualifying and working in with clients in my practise just outside Cambridge, I have often heard the following:

“I tried counselling before but it didn’t work for me!”

Of course, there will be many reasons why counselling may not work for any given person but there is definitely one reason that I think often causes the problem and that is simply finding a counsellor who is a good match for the client and often a part of that match is what type of training the counsellor has had.

Different types or styles of counselling.

Before I trained to be a therapeutic counsellor, I had a stereotype of what a counsellor was and the picture below illustrates it:

Madame Tussauds wax work of Sigmund Freud in Berlin, Germany.

The picture above is a wax work of the father of psychiatry, Sigmund Freud. He would sit in his comfy chair listening to clients who were made to lay down on a chaise longue and talk about their emotions after which he would make some kind of diagnosis of what the issue was for the client.

The stereotype I used to think of definitely came from a sense of going to see a counsellor who would diagnose one’s emotional challenges. A ‘doctor to patient’ kind of relationship.

Since Sigmund Freud, the practise of counselling exploded into lots of different approaches that all seek to work to support clients with differing needs. For many would-be clients, it is quite possible that they don’t know the differences between the approaches and so potentially engage in in a type of counselling that is potentially not a good fit for them.

If you are looking to engage in counselling therapy then it is important to understand what types of counselling are available and whether these would be useful to you as you consider your needs.

The National Counselling Society have a useful webpage detailing many different types of counselling therapy types and I will share a link to that page later in this article.

If you are wondering about the style of counselling therapy that I trained in then let me tell you about that first.

Person-Centred Counselling

The National Counselling Society states this about Person-Centred Counselling:

“This approach is based on the idea that there are certain therapeutic conditions which are the key to successful personal growth. Most counsellors will have learnt about the ideas of Carl Rogers, who emphasized the importance of the counsellor being warm, empathic, non-judgmental and non –directive. A client in ‘pure’ person-centred counselling is particularly likely to feel accepted, supported and encouraged.”

I would consider myself to be more of an ‘Integrative’ counsellor which means that I ‘mix’ different approaches into my way of working.

What this would look like to an outsider essentially myself providing clients with a space to think and talk about how they feel. There is no diagnosis, no telling the client what to do, just a non-judgemental space whereby the client can make their own connections about difficult thoughts and feelings. Over time, the client may want to move towards finding strategies for making changes to their lives and so as an integrative counsellor I could then be more proactive in helping the client to find those strategies. In all my client interactions, the process is always led by the client, talking about topics that they want to talk about.

Typical issues that clients bring to my therapy room are the following:

• Depression

• Stress and anxiety

• Poor self-esteem and confidence

• Lack of direction in life

• Grief and loss

• The emotional issues associated with being neurodiverse

Experiencing difficult thoughts and emotions and feeling overwhelmed by them can get in the way of enjoying who we are and our lives. Counselling therapy could be useful to you if you want to feel like you are living again and if you would like to talk with me about counselling then click the banner below to book a call with me to discuss what it is that you are looking for help with.

Other types of counselling therapies that are available.

Click here to go to the National Counselling Society Website for a list of counselling therapies and how they can help clients.