What is Counselling ?

When counselling may help
Counselling will work better if you seek it out for yourself.  It needs to be your decision and your commitment that will allow you to get the most out of counselling. 
Some may never feel the need to have counselling.  As a general rule, if you often:

  • Feel very anxious, depressed, sad, tired or angry
  • Find it difficult to cope with everyday issues such as work or socialising
  • Have problems with sleeping and concentrating
  • Have financial, sexual or relationship problems
    And you are willing to know more about yourself, then counselling has something to offer you    .


Does having counselling mean I am weak or a failure?
Many people are put off counselling because they feel it’s a sign of weakness, that they are ‘going mad’ or that they’ve failed to cope with things on their own.  This is so far from the truth.  Admitting to yourself that you need help is a strength, not a weakness. In the long run it may make you a much stronger person and help lessen the struggle you’re going through.
People handle stress in different ways.  It all depends on the type of person you are, your genetic make up, how much support you have and your life experiences. Your own feelings are what matter right now.
Having counselling is a really positive experience for many people.  True, it can sound daunting and it can be upsetting at times.  This is countered by the benefit of having an hour every week devoted just to you - some time to spend thinking about what’s happening in your life right now, how you feel and even, what you want! You can say whatever you like and it will stay CONFIDENTIAL between you and your counsellor.

The important things to remember about going to see a counsellor are that

  • It is not a sign of weakness
  • It doesn’t mean that you can't cope
  • It doesn't mean you are 'cracking up' or 'going mad'

Can my friends and family counsel me?
Of course many of us have people who regularly listen to our worries but sometimes this isn’t enough.  Sometimes, it’s easier to talk to someone more objective to help you see the bigger picture.  The more serious the things you have to discuss, the more likely this is to be true.

There are several advantages of talking to a professional counsellor who is outside your immediate circle of family and friends.  It can mean that

  • You will not have to worry about upsetting them
  • They will not judge you or what you have done
  • You may find it easier to talk about your deepest feelings
  • They won’t say something just because it is what they think you want to hear

But there are some things you may be used to getting from family and friends that you will not get from a counsellor, such as

  • Ready made solutions to your problems - "If I were you I'd... "
  • Opinions about you, other people or their actions - "Well I don't think he should have... "
  • More talking and less listening

 

Why Psychosynthesis ?

'Out of the past . . . in the present . . . towards the future'

There are certain situations and personal capacities towards which we are all more or less unconsciously attracted: for instance, the ability to enjoy good relationships with others, to have good health, to make free and conscious decisions, to use our mind to its maximum potential, to appreciate all that is beautiful, to be competent in our work and calm even in moments of crisis, to be open to serenity and joy, and finally, to be able to love and be loved. True, these are ambitious goals, but at the same time they are universal desires and the essence of the art of living. No authentic therapeutic approach can ignore them, and psychosynthesis, in over 70 years of research and verification, has developed simple and effective tools which can help us to approach these objectives, by understanding the factors which prevent us from reaching them.

Exploration of the Unconscious

The first step in psychosynthesis is the attainment of a certain level of self-knowledge, the ability to move within one's inner world with both ease and confidence. For this to happen, we must first enter into relationship with our inner universe of feelings, memories and images. We then continue the exploration by contacting those aspects of ourselves which we have relegated to the unconscious because we found them too painful to experience, or because they conflict with the conscious image we have of ourselves, or with the dominant cultural norms. In this work we make a surprising discovery: instead of being consistent, unchanging individuals, we find ourselves to be a mixture of contrasting, changing elements, which in psychosynthesis are termed subpersonalities. In the words of Assagioli:

 

"We are not unified. We often have the illusion of being so, because we do not have many bodies or many limbs, and because one hand does not fight with the other, but in our inner world this is actually the case - various personalities and subpersonalities struggle continuously with each other; impulses, desires, principles and aspirations are in continual tumult."

 

Our essential task is to bring clarity into this confusion.

 

for more information:

www.psychosynthesis.edu