What happens in a counseling session?
Ok yes, I have a couch in my office, but no, you don't have to lay down on it unless you're just tired! Typically the first few sessions of counseling are used to gather information, get the lay of the land, create a plan, and set goals to work towards together. We engage in "talk therapy" which is talking through your feelings, thoughts, concerns, memories, etc. When helpful, I will suggest tools to use or assign readings or homework to complete. Healing and growth is a joint effort, I am not an expert just doling out advice and telling you what to do. You know yourself better than anyone and my job is to help you clarify your emotions, thoughts, and values that may be unconsciously influencing you. My sessions last 50 minutes and the average client will attend 10 sessions. I typically recommend meeting once a week, however it is not required and sometimes we will do every other week or once a month depending on your needs.
Do I need counseling?
The definition of counseling given by Webster is, "the provision of assistance and guidance in resolving personal, social, and psychological problems and difficulties, especially by a professional." I'd say that sounds like something we could all use at one point or another in life, wouldn't you? Seeing a counselor can be helpful for a variety of reasons, including having someone to talk openly with, being able to receive objective feedback and guidance, and being able to consult with someone trained to handle the complexities of life that often come our way. Counselors are an empathetic source of nonjudgmental support and our goal is to help clients find clarity, healing, and restoration.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. ”