Integrative Counselling
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You were born to be real, not perfect...
Counselling and psychotherapy are both forms of talking therapy that involve working with a trained professional to explore personal thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in a confidential and safe environment. Both allow you a safe space to talk and work through the feelings and behaviours that are distressing or troubling to you, helping you to make sense of your experiences both current and past. Your therapist can then help you to develop healthy and effective coping strategies to deal with the ups and downs, and find new solutions to old problems.
Both forms of therapy involve a collaborative relationship between the therapist and the client and are considered to be effective forms of treatment for a wide range of emotional, psychological, and behavioural problems. The therapist will listen, ask questions, and provide guidance and support to help the client explore and understand their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
An integrative approach to therapy combines elements from different therapeutic models and techniques to create a treatment plan that is tailored to your specific needs and goals. This approach has the advantage that it allows the therapist to be responsive to your unique needs. Your therapy can be adapted to your progress and may change over time whilst still maintaining a coherent and effective treatment plan.
Our range of therapeutic approaches include CBT, DBT, Parts Therapy, Hypnotherapy (clinical and cognitive), Emotionally Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Gestalt, Psychodynamic, Mindfulness, REBT therapy, EMDR, and IEMT.
We can support you both face to face, online or a combination of the two.
Psychotherapy and counselling are similar yet different
Both are forms of talk therapy that involve working with a trained professional to explore personal thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in a confidential and safe environment. Whilst counselling tends to be shorter term, psychotherapy is usually more mid to long-term. Psychotherapy generally helps people with past issues that may be the underlying reasons for present behaviour. Counselling is often more focused on the present day challenges.
In counselling and psychotherapy you will be encouraged to:
- Talk about and clarify your problems and challenges
- Consider the consequences of various options
- Look towards the future changes and differences you wish to explore
- Acknowledge the impact of life events on your own well-being
- Help you deal with the challenges that life brings and you may be facing
What issues can counselling and psychotherapy help with?
Counselling can be helpful in a wide variety of situations such as:
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Conflict at work
- Bereavement
- Depression
- Panic
- Low mood
- Health problems
- Relationships
- Lack of self-esteem
- Making decisions
- Coping in a crisis
- Feelings of inner conflict
- Loss of confidence & motivation
Frequently asked counselling questions:
The terms “counselling” and “therapy” are often used interchangeably, but they can have slightly different connotations.
counselling generally refers to the process of working with a trained professional to address specific issues or concerns, such as relationship problems, stress, or career challenges. It can be short-term and goal-oriented.
Therapy, on the other hand, can refer to a broader range of mental health treatments that may be longer-term and focus on underlying emotional or psychological issues. Therapy may include different approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy, psychoanalytic therapy, etc.
However, in practice, the distinction between counselling and therapy can be subtle and many professionals use both terms interchangeably. Both counselling and therapy involve working with a trained professional to address emotional, mental, and behavioural issues, and both can be effective in helping people improve their mental health and overall well-being.
In summary, while counselling and therapy can have slightly different connotations, they both involve working with a trained professional to address emotional and mental health concerns. They both have the same goal of helping the person to improve their well-being.
Counselling sessions are typically focused on helping the individual understand and cope with their problems, emotions, and behaviours. During a counselling session, the individual can expect to:
- Talk about their concerns, thoughts, and feelings in a safe and confidential environment.
- Work with the counsellor to identify specific goals and objectives.
- Learn new coping strategies and ways of thinking to improve their mental health and well-being.
- Receive feedback and guidance from the counsellor.
- Reflect on their progress and identify areas for improvement.
- Be encouraged to take an active role in their own healing and personal growth.
It’s important to remember that counselling is a collaborative process, and the individual should feel comfortable and safe to express themselves. The counsellor will work with the individual to create a treatment plan that addresses their specific needs and concerns. The individual should also feel free to ask any questions they may have about the process.
The length of the counseling process can vary depending on the individual’s specific needs and goals. Some people may only need a few sessions to address a specific concern, while others may benefit from ongoing counseling to address more complex or long-term issues.
Counseling sessions usually last 50 minutes, and the frequency of the sessions will depend on the individual’s needs, goals, and the counselor’s recommendations. Some people may benefit from weekly sessions, while others may need more or less frequent sessions.
Short-term counseling, also known as solution-focused therapy, typically involves 6-20 sessions and focuses on addressing specific problems and finding solutions. Long-term counseling, also called psychoanalytic therapy, can last for several months to years and aims to help clients understand and work through deep-seated issues
It’s important to note that the counseling process is unique to each individual, and the length of the process will depend on the individual’s specific needs and goals. The counselor will work with the individual to create a treatment plan that addresses their concerns and will monitor progress to ensure that the counseling is effective.
In summary, the length of the counseling process can vary depending on the individual’s specific needs and goals, and can range from a few sessions to several months or years. The counselor will work with the individual to create a treatment plan and monitor progress to ensure that the counseling is effective.
Some people may benefit from weekly sessions, while others may need more or less frequent sessions.
It is worth checking with your health insurers as the criteria differs from provider to provider
We offer you a free 15 minutes phone or video call so that you can meet your counsellor, ask any questions and ensure you are comfortable with their working approach before you commit to therapy.
Yes, all our counsellors are governed by a strict code of conduct and confidentiality is paramount.
In just a few sessions, we’ve covered so much that’s already reduced my overwhelm and decision fatigue. I’m seeing calmer days, smoother client management, and more headspace to focus on my business future.
If you want realistic, sustainable strategies delivered with empathy and accountability, I can’t recommend Vanessa enough. She’s genuinely helped me shift my mindset and find clear direction in how I run my business - life changing actually, and that is not an exaggeration!
Three specific examples:
a) My desk stays clear every day.
b) I caught up on five months of expense claims and I'm current for this month - what a relief!
c) My communication skills are improving as I become more mindful of my words.
My wife has also commented on how good and effective Vanessa is, and she can see - and enjoy the benefits.
Vanessa, thank you!
She was able to be completely flexible with how she worked, completely giving me freedom in how I wanted therapy to be structured and the topics I wanted to discuss. She was able to easily swap between a therapeutic approach, exploring trauma or relationship issues, or a coaching approach offering practical strategies to help with day to day life.
Throughout our time working together, Vanessa was always very compassionate and warm. She was always engaged showing a genuine and caring approach which helped create a safe place where I felt comfortable talking about difficult personal topics
I can't thank her enough for the time we spent together and would thoroughly recommend her to anybody who would like to learn more about themselves, improve their mental health and learn practical strategies to help them with day to day life.
She is very down-to-earth and sensible and after asking questions and really listening to what one has to say, has a lot of insight into what may be troubling you - which she easily translates into ways that show a depth of discernment with understanding and sympathy, combined with practical help based on both theory and practical experience.
Within weeks I was able to see a way forward and regain my sense of purpose.
I cannot recommend Vanessa highly enough.
