About Counselling and Psychotherapy
People come to counselling for a variety of reasons, which may or may not be clear to them at the time. It may be that one feels overly worried about something in particular or anxious for no apparent reason. One may feel confused and isolated: on their own with feelings that may not be fully understood. One may feel burdened by life’s demands and the expectations of others. The same problems keep arising, and individuals may feel powerless to prevent unwanted and unhelpful patterns of behaviour from re-occurring.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy provides a safe place where feelings can be shared and understood in the context of the individual’s current and past life experiences. The work is geared towards reflection rather than reaction and it may take time before individuals reach a place where they are able to make changes in their lives.
However, this is not always the case. Some individuals are able to use short-term or brief work, which is generally more focussed and can be between six and twelve sessions. Much insight can be gained when using this brief model of counselling, and often individuals feel that this is enough. For others, brief work may identify issues which can then be taken into more long term work.
