Got a question on the subject of counselling? Read on for an introduction to some of the most commonly-asked questions on the subject, complete with answers from the industry’s most experienced providers:
What Is Counselling Provided For?
There is in fact no short answer to this question, quite simply because professional counselling services are provided for an infinite variety of purposes. Up and down the United Kingdom, adults of all ages are routinely turning to counsellors for assistance with all manner of social, professional and domestic problems with every imaginable level of severity. In the simplest of terms, when and where discussing something confidentially with an objective and experienced third-party might help, counsellors are ready and waiting to be called upon.
How Do I Know If I Need Counselling?
While any individual may be able to recommend that a person close to them should seek the help of a counsellor in Canterbury, the only person who can actually decide whether counselling is called for is you yourself. It’s perfectly normal and natural to be resistant to this kind of help as to accept that professional advice is needed is inherently to accept that there is a problem to be addressed. Of course it doesn’t necessarily have to be a severe problem, but a problem nonetheless which may be difficult to acknowledge.
How Many People in General Seek Counselling Services in The UK?
Contrary to popular belief, the services of the professional counsellor are in extraordinarily high demand up and down the United Kingdom. For simple confidentiality reasons, those working within the industry are not at liberty to divulge specific figures and statistics, though what we do now is that over the past decade alone, the number of counsellors working in Great Britain has increased 300% – simply to keep up with growing demand. These days, people are in general becoming more aware of the fact that problems do not have to be in any way severe for an individual to benefit from the help of a professional counsellor.
Is the Counselling Regulated?
Astonishingly, the answer is no. Here in the United Kingdom, psychotherapists and counsellors alike are not in fact officially regulated in any way by the government which is precisely why it is of crucial importance to do your homework when choosing a professional to work with. The good news is however that it is genuinely quite easy to avoid those in the rather darker realms of the industry, simply by looking into the background, experience and general reputation of any given service provider before committing to them.
What Training, Qualifications and Experience Do Counsellors Need?
Perhaps even more unbelievably, the law in the UK does not state that counsellors officially need to have any kind of educational background, qualifications, training or experience in order to go into business. It is however recommended strongly that all such individualsstudy at length for the appropriate qualifications and clock up at least 400 hours of training before practicing professionally. Suffice to say, this once again highlights the importance of doing your homework before selecting a provider.
How Long Do Courses and Sessions Last?
This particular question is impossible to answer as all such specifics will be determined in accordance with each unique case and the needs, requests and availability of both parties. More often than not however, sessions tend to last in the region of 1 hour though this is fully flexible in both directions. In terms of the length of any given course of counselling, it’s not unheard of for individuals to benefit spectacularly from just a week or two of professional assistance, while others find that bigger benefits come from continuing courses for months, years or even decades on end.
Can I Have Counselling Online or by Telephone?
In a word, yes, but more often than not counsellors do advise their clients to attend face to face meetings if possible. In the instance however of those who simply cannot make it in to the professional’s office or do not wish to do so, consultations and counselling sessions from remote locations are indeed very real possibilities.
What If I Am Unhappy with The Help I Receive?
Last but not least, if at any time you find yourself unhappy with the counsellor you have chosen or the service you are receiving, you are perfectly within your rights to walk away and end any prior agreements reached. The very nature of counselling is such that those within the profession cannot realistically give iron-clad guarantees of success, but at the same time there is nothing to gain by remaining under the care of a counsellor you are unhappy with – regardless of the reason.