Sometimes when things get overwhelming, confusing and beyond our control, talking to someone can help. And that is what counseling is all about- providing a safe space for you to talk about your struggles, fears, situations and receive advice, tools, resources, suggestions to improve and overcome it.
In this blog post, I talk about what counseling is, types and most importantly, why it is important for you.
What is Counseling?
Counseling is a process where an individual or group of people talk to a counselor about their worries, issues, struggles, and receive advice, suggestions and recommendations on how to solve them.
It involves pouring out your honest feelings, perspectives about a situation or experience to someone and receiving advice or suggestions on how to handle them.
The person who gives the advice or suggestions is known as a counselor. A counselor could be professional trained or not i.e they don’t need a professional license to be a counselor. A person could be a counselor based on their position, experience, age, etc
Most times, a counselor gives advice, suggestions, recommendations which the receiving party can choose to take or not.
How Does Counseling Benefit You?
Counseling can have so much benefits on your life such as:
- It provides a safe space for you to express your honest feelings, emotions and perspective: A counselor will encourage you to talk about the things affecting you and help you find solutions to it. Even better, you are able to speak without fear of judgement.
This act of talking itself is a therapeutic process. This is why counseling is also known as talking therapy.
- Counselling will help you in choosing the right career path for yourself: In counseling, especially career counseling, you learn more about your career qualifications and the kind of career paths you are suitable for. You also learn more about the career opportunities, scholarships, mentorships, etc., that are open to you.
- It helps you prioritize your mental health: When you face mental health struggles like anxiety, depression, etc., talking to a counselor, especially a professionally trained one can help you deal with the issues and receive professional support.
- It helps couples handle issues that comes with being in a relationship: You learn more about your partner, their likes, dislikes, what makes them tick, etc., which helps you build a healthier and stronger relationship.
- It teaches you healthy coping strategies to handle day-to-day stress and pressure: Counseling provides support that can help you manage stress in your life. You learn how to cope with issues in your personal life, how to manage your emotions, how to deal with other people, etc.
- Counseling provides you with objective advice and support: A counselor is usually a neutral third party which means they can provide helpful support and honest advice.
You can also get a different perspective on an issue which you might not have thought about.
- It helps you notice and break negative patterns in your life: Sometimes, it takes a neutral third party to draw your mind to certain patterns in our life. For example, you may be the toxic party in a relationship and not see it. But a relationship counselor will notice it and draw your attention to it.
So, whether it is your negative thinking, unhealthy behaviors, etc., counseling can help you identify and break free from them.
Types of Counseling
There are several types of counseling and some of them are:
- Relationship/Couples Counseling: This is a type of counseling you receive regarding your romantic relationships. When you experience issues in your relationships or just want to improve your relationship, relationship counseling can go a long way.
In a relationship/couples counseling session, you will learn how to handle relationship issues like poor communication, financial disagreements, infidelity, abuse, etc.
- Premarital Counseling: This is a type of counseling provided to unmarried couples. Sometimes it is done by a trained counselor. Sometimes it is not. For example, in the church settings, unmarried couples usually meet with a church elder or spiritual leader and receive premarital counseling from them.
In these sessions, they learn how to cope with issues that can occur in their future marriage, improve their emotional connection, how they communicate, etc.
- Career Counseling: This type of counseling is usually done by a career counselor or a career expert. A career counselor provides recommendations and guidance to help you make the right career decision.
A career counselor will assess your skills, interests, and direct you to career paths in line with your interests, skills, strengths, etc. They also advise you on ways and how to improve your career opportunities.
- School Counseling: This is a kind of counseling usually done in the school setting. It is usually done by a professionally trained counselor or a teacher. School counselors provide support to the students, helping them cope with academic pressure, student interactions, personal struggles, etc.
- Group Counseling: This type of counseling is usually provided to a group of people who share similar struggles. Group counseling can be a very good option for families, parents, blended families, etc.
The benefit of group therapy is that it allows people to bond over their shared struggles and be more accountable.
- Mental Health Counseling: Compared to other types of counseling, this type of counseling can only be done by someone who is professionally trained as a counselor or therapist. A mental health counselor provides counseling and advice to help individuals and groups manage and handle their mental health struggles like depression, anxiety, addiction, etc.
- Individual Counseling: This type of counseling is provided to an individual 1:1. It could be provided by a professionally trained counselor, a therapist or someone with more experience. This type of counseling is aimed at helping individuals learn more about themselves, be more emotionally resilient and develop healthy coping techniques for their personal issues.
- Employee Counseling: This type of counseling is provided to employees at a company. It is aimed at helping them deal with work-related struggles or issues in their personal life that also affects their work. For example, an employee struggling to maintain work-life balance can receive tips and guidance on how to do this.
- Family Counseling: is a type of counseling provided to the family i.e the husband, wife, children and sometimes the extended family. This type of counseling helps families to handle life events and family struggles like loss of loved ones, traumatic events, parenting issues, conflict resolution, etc.
What Happens in a Counseling Session?
In a counseling session, the counselor encourages you to feel comfortable to share your feelings without judgement. They may engage in small talk to make you feel comfortable.
After talking about what you are experiencing, they help you analyze the situation and see different perspectives to it.
Finally, they help you set a course of action to handle the situation. They also give you recommendations, advice, opinions that can guide you into making the right decision.
How Often Should You go to Counseling?
There is no specific answer to how often you should go for counseling. It depends on your goals, your situation, etc. You could go once a week or even once/twice a month.
You can also decide to go only when you face a specific situation. For example, someone who receives career counseling might stop going for counseling after making a career decision. Also, a couple might only go for counseling when they are about to get married and might not go after marriage.
Is There a Difference between Therapy and Counseling?
Yes. The major difference between a therapist and a counselor is their professional training. While a therapist must be professionally trained, it is not absolutely necessary for a counselor. Sometimes, age, experience, background could make one qualified to be a counselor.
For example, in church settings, the pastor or one of the elders usually provides counseling support to church members even without professional qualifications.
Conclusion
Choosing to go for counseling can be one of the best decisions you can take for your mental health and personal development. Whether you are dealing with stress, making major life decisions, facing emotional struggles, or simply need a safe space to express your honest feelings, going for counseling can be a very good way to handle it.
If you would like to talk to a counselor, you can book an appointment here.