What is Psychological Counselling

Psychological counselling employs a number of approaches in allowing an individual to overcome behavioural problems. One particularly important approach is the cognitive-behavioural approach (CBT). Psychological counselling is an applied area of psychology which has the objective ol helping people live more effective and fulfilled lives. Its clientele tend to be not very seriously disturbed people in non-medical settings. It concerns are those of the whole person, in all areas of human psychological functioning, such as feeling and thinking, personal, marital and sexual relations, and work and recreational activity. Its methods include counselling, relationships and activities, psychological education and consultancy, and self-help.Psychological counselling is distinguished from clinical psychology and educational psychology mainly by its emphasis on well-being and self-actualisation rather than on sickness, severe disturbance and maladjustment. Psychological counselling aims to work with clients to examine mental health issues and explore the underlying problems that may have caused them. They work across a diverse range of problems, such as bereavement, past and present relationships, mental health issues and disorders, working with people struggling with mental health and #well-being. They may work with people with a diagnosis of depression or anxiety, or people who are finding it difficult to adjust to life events. When working with people living with dementia, counselling psychologists might provide a space to talk through some of the emotional and relationship difficulties that make adjustment more challenging. If you are looking for someone to examine the wider causes of a particular problem, psychological counselling may be for you. Counsellors work with both adults and children. Author: Theresa Smith, MBPsS, 2008