What not to expect & what to expect from me in the therapy room

Welcome to my first blog!

I've been thinking for a while about what I wanted to share with you all in my first blog and decided, where better to start than with what I do and don't do with my clients in therapy.

Very often people have preconceived ideas about what their counsellor is going to be like or do for them, what their sessions will be like together and what they, as the client, will be expected to be like or do. That's completely normal to consider and healthy to work out before starting on a therapy journey, however more than often people think that their counsellor is going to fix them, tell them what to do, expect them to have something to talk all the time and even, cry constantly. In my opinion, that's not the truth of what our profession is all about.It is really important to me and most importantly, for you, that the following takes place:

I won't try to fix you... but I will help you become the best version of you- Believe it or not, I don't believe you as an individual need fixing. You are created to be you and no one else and of course, thoughts, feelings and behaviours can be addressed, challenged and reimagined together.  

I won't have all the answers... but I will support and guide you along with doing my own research- Although I'll have enhanced knowledge and expertise in areas, unfortunately it doesn't mean I have all the answers. This is the benefit of me needing to have a supervisor who can help me to support you and also, my requirement to do Continued Professional Development throughout the year.

I won't tell you what to do...but I will work with you- It's really important to know that I won't tell you what to do, as my job is to work with you to help you work out for yourself what is best for you. This will help grow your confidence, self esteem and most importantly, your autonomy.

I won't judge you...but I will be accepting and open- I can't emphasise enough how crucial it is that you  know that whatever you say, or do, I will not judge you. I will accept and be open to the person that you are, flaws and all. Our sessions and therapeutic relationship will be a place of complete safety.

I won't pressure you...but I will be patient with you- I often tell clients before we start working together how there is no pressure to talk about a particular thing. if you feel comfortable discussing something, that's great. If you don't, we do not have to go there. It may be perhaps that you want to talk about it in the next session and even if we get to that next session and you still don't want to, that is ok. I am very patient and sometimes, we don't feel ready to talk about something or it is too traumatic. My job is to ensure you feel safe.

I hope that gives you more clarity around what to expect from working with me. If you want to know more about working together,  either online or face to face in Birchington, Kent, get in contact through the ways below: