Let’s take a look at just one of many definitions of counselling. According to the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), they say: “Psychotherapy and Counselling are professional activities that utilise an interpersonal relationship to enable people to develop self-understanding and to make changes in their lives.”

Counsellors work in confidential settings with individuals who are experiencing personal difficulties, to help them overcome their problems and to make appropriate changes to their lives. Counsellors listen to, empathise with, encourage and help to empower individuals There are many reasons a person may seek the assistance of a counsellor. Loss, Grief and Bereavement and trauma are likely to be some of the better-known reasons for seeking the assistance of a counsellor. However, what if I said, many individuals are seeking to understand how they fit into a changing world. Life throws challenges of varying degrees of difficulty into our daily lives.

They can be issues relating to work, relationships, anxiety, mood changes and much more. As a profession, we find disappointment in some members of society continuing to suggest people who come to counselling are stigmatised with unkind labels indicating they are potentially weaker than others. Quite the contrary in my opinion. Anyone feeling low and vulnerable who takes the challenge to seek the assistance of someone they do not know to trust them with there innermost thoughts and pain is in my mind very strong. Seeking the support of a counsellor allows you to sift through challenges in a safe protected and non-judgemental environment.

In my practice, clients are not labelled or judged. They are given my utmost attention and priority in sitting with them in their moments of pain and or/indecision. Additionally, as a professional counsellor I can help with providing tools and psychoeducation to provide a basis for understanding and moving through the challenges and most often the pain.