The term Counselling means work with individuals and within relationships that may be developmental, crisis support, psychotherapeutic, guiding or problem solving. The task of counselling is to give the client an opportunity to explore, discover and clarify ways of living more satisfyingly and resourcefully. Counselling denotes a professional relationship between a trained counsellor and a client (the client being you or me). This relationship is normally person to person although group counselling is today becoming more and more popular. It is designed to help clients to understand and clarify views of their own lifespace and to learn to reach their own self-determined goals through meaningful and well-informed choices and through the resolution of problems of an emotional or interpersonal nature.

Counselling may be of a very brief or of a long term duration. It can take place in either an organisation (Hospital, clinic, workplace, school, prison etc..) or in a private practice setting. It is a service sought by those of us who are in distress or in some degree of confusion that we wish to discuss and resolve in a relationship which is more discliplined and confidential that friendship and perhaps less stigmatising than psychiatry.

What Should I look For ?

It is a good idea to firstly remember that in any counselling relationship between a counsellor and a client, it is you, the client, who is the boss. The counsellor is there for your benefit and not the other way around ! Even when the counsellor takes the lead role, this does not take away the control that you should already have set - with ground rules at your first consultation.

You also need to remember that however good the reputation of your counsellor, or your relationship with them, it is you who will need to do the work, they can't do it for you. It should be a partnership. For this reason, it is also an idea to discuss at the onset exactly what will be expected of you during both the sessions and the time inbetween.

In normal everyday life, there will be people we feel comfortable with and some we don't. This is normal and nothing to worry about. The same is also true of counsellors. It can be more than just finding a counsellor. It can mean choosing the right one for you. If you feel you need to talk to a few counsellors before you find the one that is right for you - then do it. Remember you will have to work closely with this person, so make sure they are right for you and your needs. However, if you then feel the counsellor that you have chosen is wrong for you, it is advisable to first ask yourself if your reasons for rejection are valid. You may be sub-consciously rejecting counselling in general. If this is the case, then discuss your fears with your counsellor, he/she may be able to ease them. If this is not the case, then it may simply be that you are not ready just yet to go into counselling. It is beneficial to you to get this checked out.

Things I Need To Know

There are a number of things that you have a right and need to know when looking for a counsellor. It is recommended that if a counsellor cannot give or refuses to give you the information you ask for when you first meet them that you take the view that this may not be the right counsellor to deal with your needs and then you continue with your search.

A great many counsellors and counselling organisations will already have provided you with a leaflet before your first session, so you will already be in receipt of all details required before onset. A good counsellor will still be prepared to continue to answer any questions that aren't answered by the leaflet.

• Training : Is this counsellor fully trained ? And who are they trained by ? A great many counselling organisations provide cheap and even free counselling by using counsellors in training rather than more experienced ones - you have a right to know this. This will not mean that you are getting a poor standard of counselling as many of these students will already be excellent counsellors and it is only in the latter stages of their training that they will be allowed to work with clients.
• Confidentiality : Before you start your counselling, you need to clarify by either reading the leaflet or by asking 'what the limits are'. You need to set up some form of contract during the initial session and agree to review this contract regularly. Also when you reach the end of your counselling sessions you need to maintain that confidentiality still remains. All confidentiality should be discussed at this stage. Your counsellor should at this stage inform you of the codes of practice he/she has to follow within the law.
  
  
  Confidentiality can be broken if ....
  1. The client gives permission
  2. If this is in the best interest of society i.e. in relation to ...
     • Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989
     • Children's Act 1989
     • Threat of serious bodily harm to others
     • Threat of serious bodily harm to self in the case of mentally ill clients.

These last four are all instances whereby the law can intervene and overule any contract set up between the client and counsellor.





What I Should Expect

• Supervision : You need to be aware than the counsellor will always have a supervisor. This will be a very experienced counsellor. This person is put in place for the safety of yourself and your counsellor. It is someone with whom the counsellor will need to discuss varied things from various sessions with numerous clients. One of the initial questions you should be asking is 'Are you receiving regular supervision?' If the answer to this is negative, then walk away, the chances are you will not benefit from a counsellor choosing to practise without supervision.
• Privacy : No matter what the circumstances, whether you are a private patient, a hospital patient, or part of a program, it is the counsellors duty and your right to ensure that wherever the counselling is taking place cannot be overheard or overseen. The only exception to this rule is group therapy, even then working within a group doesn't take away the need for confidentiality, rather it multiplies it.
• Notes : Most counsellors take notes during your session. This is normal and part of good practice on the counsellors behalf. It can be particularly helpful when there are breaks in the sessions. However, you have a right to ask about these notes, they will be kept safe and confidential. Good pracice also demands that there will be a time limit set upon how long these notes can be kept. For private practice is is normally from 6 to 12 months. For a statutory body like the NHS this may rise to 5 years. There maybe good reasons for this. One of these is sometimes it will be necessary for a person to frequently return to counselling over a period of time. It is a good idea to mention at the onset of therapy if you think you would like access to these notes.
• Respect : You have a right not to be discriminated against by your counsellor for any reason. Some of these include ...
  • Race
  • Creed
  • Colour
  • Religion
  • Any disability
  • Gender

You have the right to be respected for who you are, and not what.
Your counsellor also deserves and has a right to the same level of respect.