A number of different approaches inform the counselling offered. Overall the tone tends to be conversational with a commitment to your wellbeing, even in the more challenging moments of counselling.

The basic counseling approach is to explore certain patterns with you. These include patterns in your thinking, feelings, motives, choices and behaviour. We will discuss patterns that are helpful or unhelpful and patterns that may need strengthening. We explore current relationships and relational patterns and at times personal history. This is done in order to explore and encourage growth, development and change in relational, behavioural, emotional and thinking patterns.

Counselling is not always easy. It can be disruptive when we explore tough histories or explore shifts in established patterns of thinking, behaving and relating. At times it can feel that things are not changing as quickly as you might wish or even getting worse. It is important that you discuss with the counsellor your experience of the counseling as you go. Being an active partner in the counseling is important as we work together. It is also important to understand that we have different parts to play and different responsibilities in working together.

Both your values and the counsellor’s can affect the way the counselling relationship is conducted. A number of factors, e.g. biological, relational, environmental, educational, economic, emotional, developmental, religious and political, can contribute to the challenges we face. People can experience hardship as a result of being damaged by others or institutions, limited or denied opportunities, making poor choices, lack of skills or information, undervaluing things that are important and/or over-valuing things that are less important. Some of our problems also seem to be connected to the self-preservation that seems embedded in our own biology, humanity and then in our culture. It is not essential that you share the counsellor’s beliefs but it may be helpful to know a counsellor’s value assumptions and you are free to discuss them at any time.