ISHACOUNSELLING
You are always at the heart of the process
WHAT IS COUNSELLING?
noun
guidance offered by social workers, doctors, etc, to help a person resolve social or personal problems
The above definition is a bit cold, but you get the gist!
The basis of my approach is person centred counselling, this is about the client being their own expert.
In the 1950s, Carl Rogers proposed a form of therapy that focused on the clients' experience of themselves, as opposed to the counsellor being an expert and telling them what to do, or what was wrong with them. The therapy relies on the quality of the relationship between the counsellor and the client. This is sometimes called a ‘way of being’, with the counsellor demonstrating what is known as the core conditions, which form the basis of the relationship.
The core conditions that are mentioned in the explanation above are what makes the counselling process happen.
These are empathy, congruence and acceptance.
Empathy means to really understand what the other person is feeling, without taking away the focus from them.
Acceptance in this context is exactly that. Fully accepting the other person, without judgement.
Congruence means the counsellor, is fully present with you and grounded. It's the sort of thing that you would notice if it wasn't there! If you have ever experienced trying to talk to someone, you realise they are too busy or tired and are really not listening to you. That's what you would experience in the therapy room if your counsellor was not being congruent.
Ask yourself, when was the last time someone gave you these three things? Especially when you really needed to share something painful or uncomfortable, when even finding the right words felt difficult.
Counselling is for these times. You can take your time to open up, find the right words and be fully heard.
ABOUT ME
Trekkie, feminist, Samaritan & chai drinker
I was always curious as to how we relate to ourselves and each other. I always wanted to hear everyone's experience and life story that brought them into the present moment.
With this curiosity came an awareness of how listening impacts that person,
I trained as a listening volunteer with the Samaritans and realised just how powerful giving someone space, with acceptance and without judgement lets that person talk through whatever it is that's on their mind.
This gave me a strong foundation for my current work.
I am trained as a Integrative counsellor, this means I have training in more than one approach of counselling and can adapt my approach to better suit my client. However, my core belief is that each of us are the expert of ourselves. I am not the expert of you, but I can help you explore and ask questions that you may not have
thought about to find your answers.
My qualifications:
Level 5 CPCAB accredited Diploma in Relationship Counselling
Level 4 NCS accredited Diploma in Integrative Counselling
CAN I BOOK AN INITIAL MEETING?
Please email me at ishamehta@ishacounselling.co.uk Let me know a little about why you're thinking of counselling.
An intake session is a time for us to meet each other and for me to assess your needs.
WHAT ARE YOUR FEES?
The initial informal chat is free, which should take about 30 minutes.
A counselling session is 50 minutes long.
fees are £55 for individual clients and £65 for couples.
I recommend that sessions are weekly, same day and time each week. However, I understand that life happens, so as long as you can provide 48 hours notice, we can reschedule the appointment.
WHAT ISSUES DO YOU DEAL WITH?
Relationship (couple and/or individual)
Anxiety and depression (including suicidal feelings and harm to self)
Exploring cultural identity
generational patterns and healing past
Loss
Life changes
Self-esteem
General wellbeing, self-care/self-compassion; setting healthy boundaries
LGBTQ friendly.
WHERE ARE SESSIONS HELD?
At the moment, sessions are still held on line or over the phone if you prefer. This means counselling can happen from the comfort of your own home. I plan to continue this into the foreseeable future
IS IT CONFIDENTIAL?
What ever we talk about in the session remains between us. If I feel you maybe unsafe, then I have a duty of care and may need to break that confidentiality.
Also, I am a member of the National Counselling Society* and am ethically bound to undergo regular supervision, however identifying information is never shared.
*member number NCS20-01065
IS THERE OTHER SUPPORT?
https://www.samaritans.org/
https://www.mind.org.uk/
https://www.qwell.io/
https://giveusashout.org/
https://www.kooth.com/
https://www.keep-your-head.com/
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/
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