Counselling Articles

Panic attacks are extremely frightening. They seem to appear for no reason, strike at random and leave the sufferer feeling threatened and out of control. It is useful to be able to recognise the symptoms of a panic attack to help alleviate the fear of dying, ‘going mad’ and reduce the risk of developing phobias due to a panic attack.

Sufferers may not experience all of the below symptoms in one panic attack, but it is worth being aware of all symptoms in case you experience another attack or even encounter someone else who requires assistance in a panic situation.

How to Recognise a Panic Attack through Common Symptoms: Read the rest of this entry »

Finding a Good Therapist is like…..

Did you know that anyone, in the UK, can call themselves a counsellor or therapist? Scary when you think about it, right? Finding a good therapist can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack, almost impossible to do. Today, typing the word “therapist” in your search engine and hitting the Enter key will result in hundreds of therapist’s listings. It’s well-known that not all therapists are actually “good” at what they do. This belief is supported by examples of “bad” therapists regularly portrayed on television and film. So how do you go about sorting the good therapists from the therapists that need therapy more than you do? This article will help you to become more familiar with the traits of both good and bad therapists. Once you become more familiar with what to look out for, you can make a better informed choice and feel more confident in your decision to have therapy. Read the rest of this entry »

Turn Negative Emotions into Something Positive

Negative emotions can take a number of forms including anger, anxiety and jealousy, and are linked with behaviours such as eating disorders, substance abuse, obsessions, self-harm and violent outbursts. Although negative emotions might be surprising and unwelcome, they occur for a good reason – usually one of our fundamental needs is unmet. These can include physical needs, for example adequate diet, quality sleep, and emotional ones such as social interaction, privacy, self-determination and sense of achievement. Neglect of emotional needs is likely to result in negative feelings.

Understanding why the negative emotion has arisen, by identifying which of our needs are not met, is important to help manage it and restore balance. Suppressing emotions is unhelpful and if our needs remain unattended, they will find another way of expressing their demands, often through physical illness or emotional flooding. Negative emotions are inevitable and in fact useful because they signal to us that something is lacking. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are enrolled on a counselling course and are at the stage of seeking a counselling placement, the following guide may help. It looks at some commonly asked questions and offers five tips for securing a placement.

What is a Counselling Placement and why do I need one?

A placement within an organisation will give you the opportunity to work with clients under supervised conditions. Placements are a mandatory part of most counselling courses and necessary to practice the skills you have learned. To become accredited by a counselling or psychology body (e.g. BPS, BACP, BABCP, UKCP, BACP), you will need to show a certain amount of clinical hours. Normally these are obtained in a clinical placement. Often, you will have more than one placement over the course of your training. Read the rest of this entry »