Blog #1

Blog #1

Welcome to my first blog. In these blogs my aim is to open up the world of counselling; bust a few myths and help people to understand their emotions better.

I believe that mental health is just as important as physical health yet many people are reluctant to seek help to improve their mental health. The reasons for this are many and various but personal experience has taught me that life can be so much better and more fulfilling if we pay attention to our mental health.

I became a counsellor after experiencing trauma and bereavement then benefitting from excellent counselling. I have heard some people say that they think that counsellors have their lives all sorted out and don’t struggle with the same things that other people do. This is the first myth to bust.

Myth 1 – Counsellors do not struggle with their emotions

Counsellors are normal people (I’ll talk more about ‘normal’ in a later blog) with families, friends, daily chores, likes and dislikes. I can’t speak for my fellow counsellors but I know that I get frustrated, angry, sad and happy and every other emotion you can think of. If I didn’t feel these things it would be impossible for me to build a relationship with my clients and empathise when they express their emotions.

Why can counsellors help when they have emotional problems.

The reason I can help others isn’t because I have my life and emotions all sorted out but because I have spent time learning to understand my emotions, worked out strategies to help when things are difficult and have a desire to help others in the same way. A mandatory part of my course was that I undergo counselling myself whilst training; this is true for the majority of counselling courses. As a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) I am bound by their Code of Ethics. The Codes include ensuring I remain fit enough to help clients. I also go to regular supervision (a meeting with a more experience, specially trained counsellor) who will check that I am fit to work with clients.

I may not have had the same or similar experiences as you but I have experienced the whole range of human emotions. My aim is to use my experience of emotions, my understanding of how they affect people and what I have learnt about how to manage and cope with them to help you do the same.