Achieving Inner Peace

The world is full of pressures, deadlines and financial problems. It is all too easy to suffer from depression, anxiety and loss of confidence. In 2006 the Government found that in the UK population, up to 1.5% were suffering with severe mental health problems, up to 4 % were suffering from severe mental illness and up to 25% were presenting with mental health problems of some kind. Wellbeing asks local counsellor Kay Coxon to share some insights into her work.

What is counselling?
Counselling is a psychological process, a helping relationship. The key qualities of a good counselling relationship are empathic understanding, respect for and acceptance of the client's current state of being and genuineness. In varying degrees, all counselling approaches focus on altering how people think, feel and behave so that they can live their lives more contentedly, or with greater acceptance.
Who is counselling for?
People like Carl Rogers did much to ‘normalise' counselling. Most people can benefit from counselling, perhaps by gaining greater self-acceptance, or by being enabled to see things in a different light. Counselling can help all of us achieve that which we are capable. It is a positive, self-affirming experience on the never-ending journey of life.

What is Integrative Therapy?
Integrative therapists use techniques that come from different schools of counselling. An integrative therapist has a ‘toolbox' with a variety of ‘tools' inside. Which tool is used at any given time will depend on the issue that the client is facing, as well as the client's ‘state of being' in that session. The therapist is likely to use several ‘tools' within any given session in order to achieve the most effective therapy.
When choosing to have a course of therapy with a counsellor it is important that the counsellor is someone you feel you could develop a therapeutic bond with. Otherwise, no matter how skilled that counsellor might be, the therapy is unlikely to be as effective as it might be.

For further information about integrative counselling contact Kay Coxon Post Grad Cert Integrative Counselling, on 01323 440849, 07535 615610 or info @chrysalis-counselling.co.uk. Kay runs clinics in Uckfield at the Garden Suite, The Old Mill House.