Counselling
There are many reasons why people come for counselling, but every person’s story is unique. For some, the need for emotional support may have been prompted by a recent crisis such as redundancy, the loss of a loved one or an unexpected diagnosis. Others may be aware that issues from the past have begun to impact on their health, relationships or work life. And for some, life has become little more than a daily battle against depression and anxiety, manifest in ways as diverse as panic attacks, OCD and disturbances in sleep or eating patterns. Whatever the presenting issues, Nuance Counselling seeks to provide
- A refuge from the demands of daily life where clients can begin to express their deepest fears and emotions
- An accepting and non-judgmental environment in which to explore the causes of their psychological pain
- Help to develop realistic goals to find a way forward that is right for each individual client
- Support and empowerment to make difficult choices to bring about effective and lasting change
Assessment
For any wishing to investigate counselling, we would be happy to arrange an initial assessment session. This will allow us to find out about you, your background, the issues you wish to address and your goals for counselling. It will also enable you to get a sense of our ethos and approach: since the quality of the relationship you develop with your counsellor is fundamental, we recognise that you may wish to visit a number of counsellors before committing to further sessions: the assessment session is, therefore, an important opportunity for you to find out whether you feel you could work well with your counsellor.
Should you wish to continue, you will be provided a written agreement to read and sign before your next session. You are, of course, welcome to discuss any issues it may raise with your counsellor and to ask for clarification if necessary. We would also ask that you complete a short questionnaire to provide us with any medical details we may require, although only information that is strictly relevant will be requested. For some, a few sessions may prove sufficient to address a particular issue, but others may prefer regular sessions over a longer period of time. In either case, we would normally conduct regular reviews of progress to provide an opportunity to re-focus our efforts where necessary, in order to ensure that you achieve your goals.
Sessions
We appreciate that our clients have busy and demanding lives and will always endeavour to be as flexible as possible when arranging sessions in order to find times that are convenient for you and dovetail with other responsibilities you may have. Some evening and weekend sessions are, therefore, available.
Although counselling sessions last 60 minutes, clients are welcome to stay longer if they wish to make the most of the tranquil setting. You may like to spend some time reflecting on issues that arose during your session over coffee in the enclosed garden before returning to the busyness and demands of modern life.
Online Counselling
Although we would always recommend face-to-face counselling whenever possible, we recognise that under some circumstances this is simply not possible and are pleased, therefore, to offer online counselling via Skype, zoom, Teams or any other suitable format. This may be appropriate for clients travelling significant distances to sessions for whom a mixture of face-to-face and online counselling may provide a pragmatic solution. Online counselling may also provide essential continuity for clients should there need to be a return to lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19.