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What is Counselling , Talking Therapys and how can they help

What are talking treatments?

Talking treatments provide a
regular time and space for you to talk about your troubles and explore
difficult feelings with a trained professional. This can help you to deal with
specific problems, cope with a crisis, improve your relationships, or develop
better ways of living.

The purpose of talking treatments
is not, usually, to give advice, but to help you understand your feelings and
behaviour better and, if you want to, to change your behaviour or the way you
think about things.

You should expect your therapist
to be respectful, dependable, and to provide and environment that is
confidential and free from intrusion.

Sessions usually take place once
a week, and making this regular commitment gives you a better chance of finding
out why you are having difficulties.

What can talking treatments help
with?

Sometimes, when
trying to explain what I’ve been thinking or feeling... a mishmash of words...
falls out of my mouth. But my therapist always seems to make sense of it, and
he can even translate it back to me to, so I can understand myself better. Talking treatments can help with difficult
experiences or feelings you’ve been going through such as:



• the breakdown of a relationship

• a bereavement

• redundancy

• low self-esteem

• anger

• fear

• sadness

• guilt.

They can also help with common
mental disorders such as:



• depression

• anxiety.

alcohol dependence

gambling

drug use

Some disorders may require more
specialist treatment, for example:



• phobias

• obsessive compulsive disorder

• post-traumatic stress disorder

• eating disorders

• psychotic disorders e.g. schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

• personality disorders.

Talking treatments can also help
you cope or come to terms with the symptoms and mental distress of an on going
physical problem, illness or disability.