Psychology, mental health social work, psychiatry… counselling. Of all the mental health professions I specifically chose counselling. Why? Because I believe it is an incredibly strong, if not entirely underutilised, mental health service.
DIVERSITY IN COUNSELLING. . .
Firstly, counselling offers diversity of therapies. In other mental health roles, often due to government funding, the requirement is to utilise specific methods such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Whilst CBT is a fantastic tool, it is only one tool in a huge range of options available in terms of mental wellness. Counselling is one of the only mental health professions where we are free to explore a variety of therapies in order to find tools to help individual clients. As we know, what works for one person won’t necessarily work for another, so having the freedom and range to explore different techniques with different clients is fantastic and liberating for both therapist and client. For example, I often work in Strengths-based Therapy, Attachment Theory, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This allows me to the flexibility to meet my client’s needs in a range of different ways, instead of forcing only one type of therapy on everyone whether it suits their needs or not. Some Counsellors will still specialise in a specific therapy, some will have a broad knowledge of many, but all Counsellors will seek to apply the best options possible when working with their clients.
INDIVIDUALITY . . .
Secondly, counselling treats every single client as an individual. Unlike other mental health roles, Counsellors will seek to understand your specific situation in the context of your own life. There is no ‘putting people in boxes‘ or painting everyone with the same brush. Just because someone is experiencing anxiety, doesn’t mean you can apply the same techniques you used with the last client with anxiety and speak to them in the same way about the same things. Each client has their own unique history, thoughts, feelings, knowledge and goals. The discovery process in counselling is one of my favourite elements of being a Counsellor; having clients open up and share the experiences that have shaped who they are today is not only incredibly cathartic for clients, but very rewarding and an honour for Counsellors. Every time someone shares a private experience with us, we recognise the courage it took for them to speak up and privileged position we are in to be hearing it.
COMBINATION OF SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE . . .
Thirdly, in my private practice I have the opportunity to not only utilise my counselling training, but also my training in sociology and psychological science. I am not bound to one way of working, one way of helping clients; I am able to combine my knowledge and skills in order to help each unique client. My counselling degree helped me understand people as individuals, with individual wants, needs, thoughts, behaviours, ideas and knowledge. I learnt the key elements of counselling, and how to work with people one-on-one. Sociology has taught me the broader scope of humans and how we interact and influence each other. Whether we like it or not we are members of societies built to steer us in particular directions, tell us how to live, how to behave and who to socialise with. This can, and very much does, cause a huge amount of discontent, disconnect and isolation; which are common themes in the counselling room. Psychological science has allowed me to understand the processes of the human mind; how we make choices, develop particular behavioural patterns, how to change those patterns, and topics of research, data and statistics. All together these areas have allowed me to build a unique private practice that encompasses a range of knowledge bases to better serve my clients.
GROWTH . . .
Lastly I love counselling because it affords me the opportunity to be in a continual state of personal and professional growth. Many clients do not know this, but registered counsellors are required to complete many hours of professional development each year. This means I get the opportunity to develop new skills, learn different techniques, explore other modalities, research theories, expand knowledge, practice, network, learn and grow. No one Counsellor knows it all, even at the peak of their career with years of experience and speciality training; there is always more to learn. And all of this adds up to a customised and unique-to-you client experience, with a professional who is highly skilled, trained, educated and developed.
If you would like some support in starting your therapeutic journey please feel free to contact Bronwyn for a no-obligation 15 minute consult at bronwyn@floraisonmentalhealth.com.au
Or book an appointment today at https://square.site/book/K4SCSAPZ1VYCR/floraison-mental-health