Counselling

What counselling is

Counselling is different from other forms of help; the focus is to enable you to clarify the issues about which you are troubled. This will involve you exploring those issues in private with someone who is trained to listen and has no other role in your life. Through this confidential process, your counsellor will be seeking to enable you to clarify your thoughts and feelings. Counselling is a positive process, which is often associated with times of personal crisis. It may involve talking about painful parts of your life and therefore, you may feel worse before you feel better! It is also a very effective way of developing personal potential. If we are not the best people to help we will refer you elsewhere or suggest alternatives which may be more appropriate.

How counselling can be helpful

Counselling and Psychotherapy can be helpful for a wide range of difficulties such as:

  • depression
  • relationship problems
  • stress
  • anxiety/panic attacks
  • low self-esteem
  • eating problems
  • sexual problems
  • bereavement and loss
  • trauma resulting from accident, assault or abuse

The Ethical Framework for Good Practice

The Counsellors in this service work within the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy's (BACP link will open in new window) 'Ethical Framework for Good Practice link will open in new window', which ensures that what you speak about in your session remains confidential. The details of the confidentiality contract will be explained to you in your first session. All counsellors within the service have supervision, which involves presenting their work anonymously, to ensure that quality is maintained.

Data Protection

Counsellors keep written records of their sessions with clients. These are kept according to data protection guidelines and service record keeping procedures. To get the most from the session please ensure you arrive on time, as your counsellor will need to finish promptly.

Under current regulations anyone can set themselves up as a psychotherapist or counsellor and charge patients for consultations. This leads to a wide variation in the level of competence and expertise available.

Useful organisations

The organisations below are listed for information only and Borough of Poole does not and cannot recommend any organisation for the purposes of individuals who may wish to contact them.



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