About you
What is often difficult when we seek counselling is that we are going through a hard time, feel vulnerable and ‘not at our best’ therefore speaking to a stranger seems a near impossible thing to do.
You may have all sorts of questions like will a stranger understand me? Will I be able to speak to someone I don't know about my concerns, how I feel, what is going through my head,what I feel bad about,...?
Having someone to talk to outside your circle of friends and family and not directly involved in your life can be very helpful and liberating because this person is there just for you, listening to you, giving you all the attention they are able to give, wanting to understand you and what you are going through. At the same time it can be somewhat scary and unfamiliar to have so much attention and space for you alone, particularly when starting counselling.
People come to counselling for many different reasons.
Some of which are being in pain, being anxious, confused, depressed, feeling low, stuck or overwhelmed by emotions like anger, shame, guilt or rage.
You might be struggling due to redundancy, ill-health, chronic or acute illness, difficultlies with a family, work or intimate relationship or childhood issues like trauma, abuse or neglect.
You might sense that change is needed, that your ways of coping don’t work anymore, you might have no specific issue that you can put your finger on but a more general feeling of boredom, dissatisfaction, unhappiness and that there is more to your life then what it has been so far or you might want to uncover/find out ‘who you really are’.