Why Come to Counselling?

Counsellors are different from family and friends.
Some things are difficult to share with family and friends.
What brings people to the counsellors at college?
How counselling can help you.
Assumptions and concerns when thinking about counselling.
What happens in the first session?

Counsellors are different from family and friends

• They are outside your daily life
• Will not judge, criticise or make assumptions
• Neutral
• Their only source of information about you is you

Some things are difficult to share with family and friends

• There are some things you may not want to share
• You may be concerned about impact on the friendship
• Friends reaction may be worrying
• You may want to think things through yourself before talking to friends or family
• You may need space to talk in an environment with no pressure

What brings people to the counsellors at College?

• Being away from home
• Impact of coming to college
• Finding/making friends
• Settling into new environment
• Coping with new ways of studying and learning
• Academic issues
  • Difficulties with studying
  • Motivation
  • Concentration
• Course is not what you expected
• Difficulties prior to coming to college                          
• Emotional difficulties can lead to :
  • Difficulty with concentration
  • Low mood
  • Family difficulties
  • Bereavement/loss of any kind
  • Traumatic experiences
  • Abuse
  • Depression
  • Lack of motivation
  • Obsessiveness
  • Difficulty with sleeping
  • Phobias
  • Mood swings
  • Eating disorders
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Perfectionism
  • Anxiety
  • Self-harm
  • Suicidal thoughts
• Addiction

Counselling can help you

• Understand yourself
• Think things through
• Acknowledge feelings
• Work through them
• Consider options
• Make choices

Assumptions and concerns when thinking about counselling

• I might get upset
• Does going to a counsellor mean I’m a failure?                  
• What would my friends think?
• I don’t want to be reminded of how bad I feel
• I can sort my problems on my own
• It might make me worse
• I feel ashamed of my problems
• If I go to counselling will it all be sorted?
• No-one can understand how I feel
• I really must be in a bad way
• I don’t want to talk to a stranger
• Counselling would get in the way of my studies
• Once you start counselling it never ends
• Maybe I won’t like the counsellor
• Suppose I won't know what to say?

These are concerns that people often have prior to coming to counselling. Please don’t let such thoughts stop you from making contact with the service.

What happens in the first session?

Counselling sessions last for 50 minutes. You counsellor will discuss the frequency of sessions (which are usually weekly or fortnightly) and the duration. Your counsellor may offer either a fixed number of sessions (usually six) or more on-going sessions.

The first appointment is about gathering information. It is also about coming to a better understanding of difficulties. You may find, in fact, that this is all that is needed because the process

• Can help you to think with greater clarity
• Enables you to think of better ways of managing
• Reminds you that you do have resources within yourself, and around you, to help you deal with what had seemed very difficult to manage alone.

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