Counselling is a professional service that involves a patient talking with a qualified therapist to help them explore and understand their feelings, thoughts and behaviours.
It’s a process that helps people of all ages and experiences deal with various life challenges, such as stress, depression, anxiety, relationship issues and many others. The aim of counselling is to promote personal growth, self-awareness and improved mental health.
What Is Professional Counselling?
Professional counselling is a confidential service that involves the client meeting with a trained therapist in a safe and non-judgmental environment. The therapist will listen to the client’s concerns and work with them to develop strategies to address their problems. Counselling can be conducted one-on-one, in couples or group settings. It may involve different therapeutic models.
Therapeutic Models For Counselling
- Relationship-based counselling: This model focuses on developing a trusting and empathetic relationship between the client and therapist. The therapist helps the client explore their emotions and behaviours within the context of their relationships with others.
- Integrated Couples Therapy: This focuses on helping couples improve communication and problem-solving skills to improve their relationship.
- Psychodynamic/Object Relations: This aims to help the client explore their unconscious feelings and experiences to gain insight into their emotional difficulties.
- Attachment: This model focuses on the relationship between the client and their primary caregiver and how it impacts their relationships with others.
- Transactional Analysis: This helps the client understand how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours relate to their past experiences and how they affect their current life.
- CBT/RET: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or Rational Emotive Therapy, focuses on identifying and changing negative thoughts and behaviours to improve mental health.
- Trauma Informed Therapy: This model is designed to help individuals who have experienced trauma develop coping strategies to manage their symptoms.
- Compassionate Frame Therapy: This involves developing a compassionate attitude towards one’s self and others and helps the client challenge negative self-talk and beliefs.
Why Is It Typically So Beneficial For Children?
Counselling can be especially beneficial for children who may be experiencing developmental difficulties, trauma or disorders. This is because counselling can provide a safe space in which the child can express themselves, develop coping strategies and improve emotional well-being.
For children with developmental difficulties, such as ASD or ADHD, counselling can help them develop communication and social skills and understand and manage emotions. It can be adapted to meet the specific needs of the child and can involve play therapy or other creative approaches to engage the child.
Children who have experienced trauma, such as abuse or neglect, will benefit from a safe and supportive environment to process their emotions and develop coping strategies.
Benefits For Older Adults
Counselling also has a range of benefits for older adults. As people age, they’re likely to experience significant life changes, such as retirement, loss of loved ones or health issues, which can severely impact mental health.
Counselling can help older adults cope with these changes and develop strategies to manage their emotions. Counselling can also be helpful in improving relationships, communication skills and self-awareness, leading to a more fulfilling life.
If you feel that counselling may be beneficial to you and would like to book in with a qualified, experienced and empathetic therapist in Darwin to discuss your needs in more detail, get in touch with Stepping Stones In Life Therapy Service today.
Author
Barbara Kapser
Barbara Kapser is our psychologist at Stepping Stones in Life Therapy Service in Darwin. She's a member with the Australian Psychological Society and the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health.
She specialises in perinatal infant mental health, attachment disorders, developmental trauma and behaviour support.
