Counselling Centre

What to expect from Counselling?

The idea of seeking counselling services can seem daunting to many. There are plenty inhibitions related to it. One being that you will be opening up to a stranger about things that you may have never spoken about to anyone. It is totally understandable how overwhelming it might feel to approach someone who isn’t a friend or a family member.  However, counselling or therapy can be beneficial in multiple ways,

1. To deal with change, adjustment, homesickness, demanding academic pressures and schedules
2. Difficult life events from one’s past or current such as familial conflicts, break-up of relationships, experiences of abuse, rejection, loss of support, death of a loved one
3. Dealing with addictions
4. Long standing or life changing physical health concerns
5. It can be a supportive space to explore or identify mental health concerns
6. It can be a safe space to explore issues around one's gender identity and sexual orientation and how these can be a source of minority stress
7. It can also help in understanding life transitions or decisions for instance, adjusting to a new environment, starting a new career, dealing with cultural shock
8. It can also be instrumental in self- discovery

Having said that, it’s imperative to understand that counselling is guided by YOU. It’s entirely up to you to speak as much as you wish, to terminate the session or change the frequency of the sessions. You can pace the session as per your need. A counsellor will not force you to talk or divulge any information that you are uncomfortable in sharing.

In the beginning you might feel anxious but over a period of time you might get comfortable with your counsellor. It’s normal to feel anxious before sessions. If you feel anxious regularly before or after the session, you can address it in your sessions to deal with anxiety. A Counsellor will ask you questions only to get a deeper understanding of your concerns. This will help you and the counsellor to set goals for your sessions and the work that you would like to do during the sessions.

What Counselling is Not?

It’s important to understand that,

• Counselling is not a quick fix. It takes time and effort and you are equally a part of the process
• Counsellors are not mind readers
• Counsellors cannot solve your problems for you or give you solutions

However, we as counsellors can definitely listen, create a safe space for you to share and explore your problems, support you when you may feel overwhelmed or alone and work with you to find newer ways of dealing with old problems and motivate you to institute some self-care mechanisms.