When researching local counsellors, you may find that they each list different types of counselling/therapy approaches. This simply means that they focus on slightly different themes – some might explore your childhood and past traumas, while others will be much more focused on the here and now. Certain therapists centre on talking about the challenges you’re facing, others are more action oriented and help you come up with clear plans to address issues. Each form of counselling has its benefits, and will suit different people. Part of the initial assessment will be discussing what you want to get from your sessions, and how the counsellor may be able to help. You don’t need to understand the theory behind these approaches, unless you’d like to, as in practice you’ll take the lead from the counsellor.
However, as you begin your counselling journey, you may find that a certain approach definitely does or does not work for you, and that’s absolutely normal. It’s why there are so many different approaches – because no one size fits all in counselling. You may find it beneficial to try a few different methods out, or do some research on the options and talk to counsellors about their approach to see what feels right to you (we’ll be exploring some of these differences in future blogs).