The following articles are fairly concise and general attempts to articulate various themes pertinent to counselling and psychotherapy as it is understood and practiced at the Northern Rivers Counselling practice. It is hoped that these articles may be of use in helping you make informed choices about committing to therapeutic work.
CLICK ON THE TITLE OF EACH ARTICLE FOR THE PAGE TO OPEN UP.
WAYS OF GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR GROUP EXPERIENCE:
Recognize that trust is not something that ‘just happens’ in a group but that you have a role in creating it. If you are aware of anything getting in the way of a climate of safety, share your hesitation with the group.
Commit yourself to getting something from [...]
The beginning of counselling involves us meeting, getting a sense of each other, and for you to feel at ease telling your story and what brings you to counselling. Upon getting a sense of what the issues are we will create some mutually agreed goals and areas of focus for the work.
Collaboratively we will then discuss what [...]
What follows is a simplistic and very general outline of how I understand the difference between psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and psychotherapists. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. What I identify are general patterns exhibited in the field.
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a qualified medical doctor who has specialized in a medical understanding of mental health. As [...]
From: Feltham, C. & Dryden, W. (2006). Brief Counselling: A Practical Integrative Approach. Open University Press. London,.
Counselling is a confidential and ethically protected relationship with a trained and qualified practitioner who will take your personal concerns seriously.
There are different counselling styles or approaches. Some are more non-directive and the counsellor will mainly listen or strive [...]
(This is a handout I give to clients at the initial session. Feel free to print it our for yourself or to pass it on if you are thinking of referring me to someone you know).
.
NAME: Pedro Campiao
.
ADDRESS:
LISMORE: Suite 3, 95 Molesworth Street Lismore. 2480 NSW.
MULLUMBIMBY: Suite 2 108 Stuart Street (Stuart st Arcade) Mullumbimby 2482. [...]
I work from an integrative approach to counselling and psychotherapy. This means I integrate various counselling/psychotherapy approaches according to client need.
In my work there are certain modes of working and domains of exploration which are important. The following expresses some of these:
Faith in the client’s expertise, ability to self-regulate and to change: I approach therapeutic work [...]
The difference between brief counseling and longer term psychotherapy is hard to define as there are common factors that apply to both ways of working. There are many and varied definitions of what counseling and psychotherapy are and the differences between them. What follows is a common definition, one that I find useful and one [...]