Personal Counselling: The need of the hour
Woman 1: Hello where is your son? I need some help with my phone.
Woman 2: Hi, he has gone to see his counsellor.
Woman 1: What is he seeing a counsellor for? Is he mentally ill?
The above conversation may be hypothetical but it conveys a deep message about the general perception of counselling by people around the globe and especially in India. In the following passages we will go through what counselling is, what it is not and who needs it.
What is Counselling?
Counselling is a process by which a Counsellor helps the client find a solution to the problem which made the client seek counselling. This is done by the counsellor by actively and effectively listening to the client’s problem and helping the client find the solution by asking the right questions to get to the root of the problem whilst holding and practicing unconditional positive regard for the client and by being absolutely non-judgemental toward them. This is facilitated by the counsellor by creating an environment of openness and trust which is built over a number of sessions.
Who needs Counselling?
To be honest, everyone needs counselling at some or the other stage of their Life. Usually it is the time when one feels demotivated, depressed, stressed or that their Life is going nowhere. Counselling can help anyone from a child to an old age person.
How does Counselling work?
All of us have family and friends who genuinely care about us and are ready to help us out. When we are speaking with them, there are a lot of factors that come into the picture which include their familiarity with us and others that we may wish to speak about. Due to this, the opinion given by them may be biased and they may become judgemental when we speak of something we are not particularly proud of. A counsellor on the other hand is supposed to be completely unbiased and non-judgemental and by maintaining a positive relation, the counsellor is able to help us perceive things and situations better. Sometimes they are like a mirror that will show you what you are unable to see yourself.
What is the duration of Counselling?
Effective Counselling can take anywhere between a couple of sessions to several sittings usually of an hour per sitting. The counselling relationship should go on until the time where the client thinks he does not need it anymore and has overcome the problem which initiated the need for counselling. Depends on per case basis, there is no defined rule or baseline.
Why should you take Counselling?
In today’s fast paced life, most of us barely take time out to assess our current situation and check if we are really enjoying life or notice if things are holding us back without our knowledge. Taking an hour out of your life and seeing a counsellor will help you get better clarity about things and will definitely help you grow as a person. Although, we can do all of this all by ourselves, counselling practitioners are seeing clients day in day out and they know the right questions to be asked to probe the client in the direction of the solution.
Conclusion:
Counselling is a genuinely helping profession and a counsellor can help you figure out what is wrong and the root cause of problems. Each one of us, at some or the other point, should see a counsellor and strive to better understand the reason for why things are the way they are in our life.
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