What can counselling help with?
Below is a list of some of the issues that counselling can be used to address:
- Situational Depression or Anxiety
- Trauma
- Bereavement
- Stress
- Relationship Difficulties
- Separation or Divorce
- Fertility Issues
Therapists who offer this service
Rhian – Psychologist
Elizabeth – Senior Accredited Therapist
Sharon – Accredited Therapist
Annette, Jade & Joanne – Senior Qualified Therapists
Sam – Qualified Therapist
Please visit our team page for more information about these therapists.
Hourly Fees
Your first session is half price with us (shown in brackets)
(£47.50) £95 with Dr Rhian
(£40) £80 with Elizabeth
(£32.50) £65 with Annette
(£30) £60 with Jade, Joanne & Sharon
Further information about counselling
Whilst the terms counselling & psychotherapy are often used interchangeably, at The Clearing we use them to differentiate between supportive, more here & now techniques (counselling) & deeper exploratory approaches (psychotherapy). All of our therapists are trained in both & they will be able to advise you on the best way forward when you come in for your half price, initial consultation.
Counselling is here to support you through the difficult times. It provides you with the space & opportunity to talk about yourself, your situation & anything that may be holding you back.
Although the notion of speaking with a complete stranger about your problems may seem odd (& if we’re honest, quite scary), it really is a lot easier than you might think. Your therapist has no links to your friends or family & so provides you with a completely impartial listening ear.
The time is about you & you alone. Your therapist’s only agenda is to support you from a position of total acceptance. Counselling therefore is a rare opportunity for you to speak completely freely & to be really listened to. What we hear when we get this chance to listen to ourselves can be surprising & at times unsettling, but it is almost always liberating in the end.
When we share our thoughts & feelings, we come to better understand ourselves & our relationships. This insight, helps us to develop self acceptance & by improving our relationship with ourselves, our relationships with others will benefit too.
Along with gaining understanding, counselling supports us to express & experience the more difficult feelings.
All of us have things we tend not to discuss, be they issues from our past, problems in a current relationship, or fears that we have for the future. Bottling up these thoughts & feelings however, is never a good idea. Without us even realising it, these unexpressed emotions can cause us to feel stressed, irritable or depressed.
By talking openly & honestly within a safe & confidential space we can begin to unburden ourselves & let these emotions out. It really is remarkable how much lighter we can feel, once we’ve got it all off our chest & from this lighter, more positive place we can find the right way forward.
Our therapists are trained in a number of different approaches & will integrate these tools, shaping their approach to suit you & your specific needs. This can often mean blending solution focused approaches such as CBT with the deeper explorations of person centred & psychodynamic techniques (covered in our Psychotherapy section).
Solution focused counselling centres on the here and now, helping you to change the way you think about yourself & your situation & to develop strategies for dealing with the problems that you are facing. It tends to be quite practical, involving homework & behavioural tasks. If that appeals to you then look out for CBT on our therapists’ profiles.
The length of time you spend in therapy will depend upon the issue in question, your goals & how deep you’d like to go. Some people come to counselling for a few weeks, other people stay for much longer. In most cases you’ll meet with your therapist on a weekly basis, but it may also be possible to see each other more or less regularly, depending on your particular needs.
There is no maximum or minimum number of sessions you will attend, counselling is a process that really just takes as long as it takes. We understand however that there may be financial constraints on how long you are able to come for counselling. If this is the case then a short, focused course of sessions may best suit you & we can discuss whether this is an appropriate option in your consultation.