What is person centre counselling?

Person Centred Counselling can only take place at the request of the individual or ‘client’. The client will see a counsellor in a private and confidential setting and will be encouraged to talk openly about any difficulties or distress they are experiencing.

The counsellor will not make any judgement about what is said or provide any advice but will listen attentively to perceive things from the client’s point of view. A relationship develops which involves mutual trust and empathy and the client may be able to view things from a different perspective.

In each session, the client is able to explore aspects of their feelings and lifestyle freely and openly, reducing confusion and enabling choice or change. Anger, anxiety, grief, shame, hopelessness or embarrassment are very personal and can be very intense and difficult to understand. Counselling offers a way for the client to express how they feel, seek a way of accepting their feelings and empower themselves to choose a way forward that feels best for them.

Counsellors are trained to encourage open and honest discussion, accepting and respecting the feelings expressed by the client. They will reflect the client’s problems without becoming personally involved or burdened by them.

Counsellors will enable the client to examine in detail any behaviour or situations which are causing the client distress. The client will be encouraged to look at options of initiating change that may affect their situation or change their behaviour for the present and/or the future. This is not often possible with friends and family and provides unique opportunity for the client to look at aspects of themselves and their life in a way that they have never been able to do before.