Counselling
Q: When should I look for a counsellor?
A: Speaking with an impartial professional who is trained in facilitating communication can be helpful in many situations. For example,
For individuals:
- experiencing difficulty in their workplace,
- struggling with a personal issue,
- seeking greater clarity or motivation for setting or achieving goals,
- in conflict with another person.
For couples:
- experiencing friction in their relationship
- seeking to develop more positive communication
For families:
- going through cross-generational conflict
- adjusting to changes such as separation, divorce, new life partner, or blending
If you are wondering whether counselling will be helpful for you, participating in an initial consultation will allow you to find out if you feel comfortable with the counsellor's style, and allow the counsellor the opportunity to determine if your case is suitable for their type of practice.
Q: What type of counselling is offered?
A: The common thread of the many types of counselling is emphasis on talk. Counsellors provide a confidential, non-judgemental environment for clients to share personal and/or interpersonal challenges in their life, and explore ways to address them. This safe space, coupled with carefully targeted questions from the counsellor, helps clients to gain perspective, evaluate possible courses of action, and identify next steps to take for moving forward.
The type of counselling Monica practices is Solution Focus Brief Therapy.
Q: What is Solution Focus Brief Therapy?
A: Solution Focus Brief Therapy evolved out of the following observations:
- The majority of people who seek help with a personal or interpersonal difficulty attend counselling only for a short time. It makes sense to use session time to identify the next,immediate steps that may bring relief.
- No problem is at full intensity all the time. Even the most chronic difficulty alternates between more and less intense phases. It makes sense to identify those moments and catalysts that help reduce the
intensity of the problem, and concentrate on how to strengthen them,
- No professional can have as complete knowledge of a person's life than that person him/herself. It makes sense to think of every individual as an expert on his or her own life.
- Every person has a unique mix of inner strengths and resources, meaning a solution that works for one person may not fit another. The decision on what is a realistic, workable solution for each unique situation should be developed by that person her/herself.
- Focusing on what led to a problem tends to lead to even greater focus on the problem, making it difficult for the person to move forward. On the other hand, focusing on what can lead to success in eliminating or reducing the problem tends to help the person move forward. Pinpointing the actions and thoughts that resulted in improvement leads to more awareness of one's strengths and resources, which increases confidence in dealing with the difficulty. This creates a cycle of hope and positive thought through awareness of small but significant successes.
Q: How long does solution focus brief therapy take?
A: Typically, individual clients choose to attend for 4-6 sessions. Some report a sense of forward movement following their first meeting, and choose to conclude sooner than fourth session. Couples may attend longer.
Ultimately, the length of the process depends on the circumstances of each individual and the number of issues they wish to discuss, and is left to the client's discretion.
Q. How do I choose a solution focus counsellor ?
A. Profesionals who practice Solution Focus Brief Therapy come from different professional and educational backgrounds. What unifies them is the training to acquire and apply Solution Focus techniques. Because of the variety of backgrounds, and of course personalities, there are likewise many personal styles among professionsals who practice SF techniques.
Monica offers initial consultation, free of charge. This can help you develop a sense of her approach and communication style, so you can get a better feeling of whether it works for you.
A: Speaking with an impartial professional who is trained in facilitating communication can be helpful in many situations. For example,
For individuals:
- experiencing difficulty in their workplace,
- struggling with a personal issue,
- seeking greater clarity or motivation for setting or achieving goals,
- in conflict with another person.
For couples:
- experiencing friction in their relationship
- seeking to develop more positive communication
For families:
- going through cross-generational conflict
- adjusting to changes such as separation, divorce, new life partner, or blending
If you are wondering whether counselling will be helpful for you, participating in an initial consultation will allow you to find out if you feel comfortable with the counsellor's style, and allow the counsellor the opportunity to determine if your case is suitable for their type of practice.
Q: What type of counselling is offered?
A: The common thread of the many types of counselling is emphasis on talk. Counsellors provide a confidential, non-judgemental environment for clients to share personal and/or interpersonal challenges in their life, and explore ways to address them. This safe space, coupled with carefully targeted questions from the counsellor, helps clients to gain perspective, evaluate possible courses of action, and identify next steps to take for moving forward.
The type of counselling Monica practices is Solution Focus Brief Therapy.
Q: What is Solution Focus Brief Therapy?
A: Solution Focus Brief Therapy evolved out of the following observations:
- The majority of people who seek help with a personal or interpersonal difficulty attend counselling only for a short time. It makes sense to use session time to identify the next,immediate steps that may bring relief.
- No problem is at full intensity all the time. Even the most chronic difficulty alternates between more and less intense phases. It makes sense to identify those moments and catalysts that help reduce the
intensity of the problem, and concentrate on how to strengthen them,
- No professional can have as complete knowledge of a person's life than that person him/herself. It makes sense to think of every individual as an expert on his or her own life.
- Every person has a unique mix of inner strengths and resources, meaning a solution that works for one person may not fit another. The decision on what is a realistic, workable solution for each unique situation should be developed by that person her/herself.
- Focusing on what led to a problem tends to lead to even greater focus on the problem, making it difficult for the person to move forward. On the other hand, focusing on what can lead to success in eliminating or reducing the problem tends to help the person move forward. Pinpointing the actions and thoughts that resulted in improvement leads to more awareness of one's strengths and resources, which increases confidence in dealing with the difficulty. This creates a cycle of hope and positive thought through awareness of small but significant successes.
Q: How long does solution focus brief therapy take?
A: Typically, individual clients choose to attend for 4-6 sessions. Some report a sense of forward movement following their first meeting, and choose to conclude sooner than fourth session. Couples may attend longer.
Ultimately, the length of the process depends on the circumstances of each individual and the number of issues they wish to discuss, and is left to the client's discretion.
Q. How do I choose a solution focus counsellor ?
A. Profesionals who practice Solution Focus Brief Therapy come from different professional and educational backgrounds. What unifies them is the training to acquire and apply Solution Focus techniques. Because of the variety of backgrounds, and of course personalities, there are likewise many personal styles among professionsals who practice SF techniques.
Monica offers initial consultation, free of charge. This can help you develop a sense of her approach and communication style, so you can get a better feeling of whether it works for you.
