Rowan Percy - MA, RCC
GETTING STARTED
“There is a way through whatever dilemma or difficulty you are facing.”
Finding the right therapist
Looking for a therapist is a big step. It takes courage and it helps to have some guiding questions:
- How will I know who is the right therapist for me?
- Will I feel safe?
- Will I be able to open up?
- Will this professional understand my particular issues?
Undertaking one session with the person of your choice and seeing how it feels is the most reliable method of making a decision whether you want to work with a specific counsellor. It is important to attend to how you feel with the therapist, and that you feel understood and heard. Ask yourself: do you feel you can talk openly with that person? Do they seem to be listening to your particular concerns? Are they offering you responses you find useful?
It can help to talk to friends who are seeing a counsellor whom they like working with, to hear about their experience and to find out how they chose their therapist. By reading a website or talking to a professional on the phone, you may also get a sense you can connect with a counsellor.
What qualities would I seek in a counsellor?
A professional counsellor offers empathy, understanding and objective listening. A counsellor should have the training and skills necessary to help you develop the resources you need for tackling the challenges you experience. A counsellor should have an up-to-date and good understanding of psychology, should be educated in their field, be well versed in various treatment approaches and be someone you can develop a rapport with.
BESIDES MY ISSUES, WHY DO THERAPY?
The purpose of counselling will vary according to the many individuals who engage in it. Psychotherapy can also serve todeepen your “life journey”.
The following may give you a sense of what I mean:
The purpose of counselling is to become more yourself.
To “metabolize” or integrate the past or present wounds you carry forward in your life.
To develop inner resources to face what life brings you with confidence, resilience and enjoyment.
To learn to follow your own self-healing process.
To engage with your life realistically.
To free yourself from what holds you back.
To encourage and empower you to contribute in ways that are meaningful to you.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COUNSELLING?
Counselling helps us examine underlying mental, emotional and behavioural patterns.
It helps us articulate thoughts and feelings we might not normally share.
It can help us examine and change behaviours and communication habits that undermine wellbeing, and upset our relationship with self and others.
It can help us become more compassionate toward this self that is suffering.
We are not at fault if we have not been able to develop the optimum skills for meeting life. Counselling offers a compassionate way to learn and grow.
Counselling is an opportunity to develop a richer relationship with yourself in your life.
Whatever your situation, you can be assured that your counselling experience will be entirely confidential.
I invite you to discuss with me what you want to work on, in an initial phone call or session.
Feel free to use the contact form to start with.