What is Psychotherapy/Counselling?
Psychotherapy and counselling are forms of one to one therapy, concentrated specifically on you, your experiences, your thoughts/feelings and getting you to where you want to be in your life. The aim of therapy is to allow you the space to discuss challenges you face, gain self-awareness, create growth and facilitate personal development. As a skilled and experienced therapist, Emma provides a safe space and supports you to:
- Work through specific challenges you may be facing.
- Develop an awareness of patterms which are causing difficulties in your life and/or relationships.
- Interact with those patterns in new and more helpful ways.
- Understand and heal the source of these patters.
- Improve your sense of wellbeing
What is the difference between Counselling and Psychotherapy
Currently, there remains some debate around this question in Ireland. Some professional bodies assert that there is no proficiency difference between counselling and psychotherapy, yet others maintain them to be distinct professions.
Currently, most professionals refer to themselves simply as a “counsellor and psychotherapist” and don’t draw a lot of attention to any distinction between the terms.
Personally, I do beliefe there to be a difference bewteen the two. I will use a bike analogy to illustrate the difference between counselling and psychotherapy:
Counselling: Riding a Bicycle
Imagine learning to ride a bicycle for the first time. Counselling is like getting guidance and support to improve your biking skills. A counselor might help you understand the basics of balancing, steering, and pedaling. They focus on specific issues or challenges you’re facing in the present moment, such as overcoming fear, building confidence, or navigating obstacles. Counselling is typically short-term and goal-oriented, much like learning to ride a bike for a specific purpose, such as commuting or recreation.
Psychotherapy: A Journey on a Long-Distance Bike Tour
Now, consider psychotherapy as a long-distance bike tour. In this analogy, you embark on a more extended and exploratory journey of self-discovery. A psychotherapist is like a guide who accompanies you throughout the trip, helping you explore deeper aspects of yourself, understand past experiences, and navigate the complexities of your emotions and thoughts. Psychotherapy is often more in-depth, focusing on personal growth, healing from past wounds, and gaining insight into patterns that may be holding you back. It’s a more comprehensive and sustained process compared to counseling.
In summary, counseling is akin to learning specific skills to ride a bike effectively, addressing immediate challenges. Psychotherapy, on the other hand, is a more extensive journey, delving into the intricacies of your inner world, promoting personal growth, and facilitating lasting change. Both have their place, depending on the individual’s needs and goals.
I offer both counselling and psychotherapy to my clients, typcally this is something which happens organically as it becomes clear within the sessions what clients are seeking to get from their therapy journey.
Who is Therapy For?
Therapy is for EVERYONE. People usually come to therapy to work through specific challenges they face, to find happiness, peace, personal growth or to get a handle on patterns of behaviours/habits which are causing them discomfort or just not serving them.
My Therapeutic Approach
I am an integrative psychotherapist. This means that I draw on different schools of therapy in order to offer a tailored experience to each client, which meets their specific and unique needs. My therapeutic practice is embedded in the Humanistic Existential approach. This simply means that I believe you hold the power to change and to learn how to respond to difficult life events, in healthier and more positive ways. I also rely heavily on Mindfullness Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (MCBT), Transactional Analysis (TA) and Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) in order to support clients with finding direction and learning the skills and coping strategies they need to address challenges they face.
In sessions with clients, I like to do three things:
- Understand the current situation which brought you to therapy and what your goals for therapy are.
- Explore your past to gain an understanding of your childhood and any significant events and how they may have been carried forward into your adult life.
- At this point, I like to take a solution focused approach and collaborate with you to discover how you might realise your goals. Usually this process happens naturally.
I am non-judgemental, approachable and truly curious about all my clients and I hold a deep desire to empower and support.
Finding the right therapist for you, can take time and you might need to kiss a few frogs before you find the right one for you. Contact me today to see if I am the frog for you!