Integrative Counselling
Integrative counselling uses various styles of counselling to suit the client and the stage of their counselling. The main methods I use are outlined below:
Person Centred Counselling
Client centred counselling is focussed on the client and building a close therapeutic relationship rather than techniques. Carl Rogers defined three core conditions as the basis for a therapeutic alliance: empathy - aiming to understand the world of another, unconditional positive regard - consistently respecting the client and genuineness - the counsellor responds to the client with humanity and honesty. Carl Rogers demonstrated the ability to reflect his understanding of clients in an extremely deep and respectful way. It is now widely held that these core conditions of the therapeutic relationship form the basis of any effective form of therapy.
CBT
A central tenet of CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is that thoughts affect emotions. Therefore by successfully challenging negative beliefs and thoughts major improvements can be brought about with emotional states such as anxiety and panic attacks. It can empower the client to change thoughts, reactions and behaviours in a constructive, step by step way. It is a useful emotional education and can help identify thoughts which block us from being the way we want to be.
Brief Solution Focussed Therapy (BSFT)
BSFT makes the empowering assumption that the client has the innate ability to solve their own problems. The role of the therapist is to direct the client towards their own resources. BSFT asks questions which encourage focus on the positive and constructive e.g. ''If you made the first step what would you do?'', ''When you''re at your best what is different?''. It can be applied to a wide range of issues from relationships to careers, and can be uplifting for clients who find it hard to remember or imagine things being better. What we focus on is what we get, so a clear, detailed vision of what we want creates a nourishing goal and a motivation for change.
