CCC FAQs

What can I expect of my counsellor?

Over the years much has been written about the qualities that the counsellor brings to the room with their client. As a client at CCC you could expect our counsellors…

To work on goals that you have set together
To be themselves (to be genuine)
To have empathy for you – and for you to be able to sense this
To accept you for who you are and not to be judgemental
To be resilient enough to hold your emotional needs, without you having to worry about whether they can handle all that you bring
To flag up any safeguarding issues that may arise from the work that you do together
If you don’t feel that your counsellor is right for you, you can either change your counsellor or you can end the work at any time. It is your time and we will respect your decision without you having to explain yourself.

Complaints Procedure

If you are unhappy about our service, we would like to try to understand what went wrong and see if together we can reach an outcome that is beneficial to you. However, if you do not feel able to talk to your counsellor, you might want to make a complaint in writing to communitycounsellingcoop@gmail.com

Any concerns that arise between a client and a member of CCC will be taken very seriously and we will attempt to address the issues according to our policies, so that a satisfactory resolution may be reached as soon as possible.

However, if a resolution cannot be reached or if the nature of the complaint cannot be resolved, then a complaint can be made to the professional body of the individual therapist concerned. In most cases this will be the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy.

Links http://www.bacp.co.uk/prof_conduct/model_complaint.php

How does counselling work in practice?

Some people describe counselling as like going on a journey of discovery, where the counsellor acts as a trusting companion. Other people see counselling as a way of being provided with tools to aid recovery.

In practical terms, most counselling takes place once a week for 50 minutes. This will usually happen in a room that is safe and secure, where you will be able to talk without the fear of anyone else hearing what you say. This is known as a ‘session’. How many sessions you have depends on what is best for you. You might have a certain number of weeks, or you may want to continue until you feel you have achieved all that you want. The experience of a counsellor may also help you in making this decision.

We, as counsellors, come into the room with experience of working sensitively with people’s thoughts and feelings, while you come into the room as an expert of yourself. Together you and the counsellor will make a verbal contract so that you both know where you stand.

The counsellor will spend the early sessions getting to know you and understanding how you like to work. It might be that you like to be in control of what happens, which is great, or it might be that you want the counsellors to make suggestions as to where you go, which is fine, too, or it may be that this changes over the course of the therapy.

Why do people come to counselling?

People come to counselling for many reasons. Some people come to avert a crisis, while others may be in the middle of one. Some people may be unhappy and know why and know what they need to change, while others may want to seek the cause of their unhappiness.

Some people find it hard to talk to those that are closest to them, or they fear that they won’t be listened to properly by their family and friends. A counsellor can provide such people with time and space to help them make important decisions in their lives.

Sometimes people come to counselling with one particular issue and discover along the way that there are other issues that need to be resolved.

The central goal in counselling is to bring about a positive change in a person’s feelings, behaviour and thinking.