Get help

What is counselling?

Counselling falls under the umbrella term ‘talking therapies’ and allows people to discuss their problems and any difficult feelings they encounter in a safe, confidential environment. The term can mean different things to different people, but in general, it is a process people seek when they want to change something in their lives, or simply explore their thoughts and feelings in more depth.

A counsellor is not there to sit you down and tell you what to do. Instead, they will encourage you to talk about what's bothering you in order to uncover any root causes and identify your specific ways of thinking. The counsellor may then look to create a plan of action to either help you reconcile your issues, or help you to find ways of coping.

What can counselling help with?

Counselling can be useful for anyone who wants to explore the way they're thinking or feeling further, as well as for anyone experiencing a problem or issue they are keen to resolve. People may choose to speak to a counsellor because they feel they cannot speak to their other half/friends/family about such personal issues, or they may simply wish to speak to a professional with an objective viewpoint.

Counselling can help you cope with:

• a mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety or an eating disorder

• an upsetting physical health condition, such as infertility or suffering from a long-term illness

• a difficult life event, such as a bereavement, relationship breakdown or work-related stress

• trauma, such as being involved in an accident or if you have been the victim of abuse

• an addiction, whether physical or linked to a substance or activity

• difficult emotions – for example, low self-esteem or anger

• other issues, such as sexual identity

Different types of therapy

When it comes to counselling there are a range of different approaches or therapies that can be used. The type of therapy used will depend on your counsellor's preferences, the issues you are facing and what type of person you are. Most counsellors won't decide on a therapy type until they have found out more about you, the problems you face and the way you think.

The more common types of therapy include:  

Art Therapy

Taking an alternative approach to counselling, art therapy encourages clients to use artistic methods to communicate their issues as well as words. This may be in the form of a painting, a sculpture or even a simple drawing. The aim of art therapy is to examine the resulting pieces of art and to interpret their meaning.

Dramatherapy

Dramatherapy uses metaphor to offer a safe space in which difficult issues can be looked at without being threatening and without causing further trauma. Although Dramatherapy is a psychological therapy, it is used and accessed by people in a whole range of settings. Clients within a Dramatherapy session have access to a whole range of tools to support them and enable them when exploring thoughts and feelings, such as; play, imagery, materials, stories, drawing, poetry and text, art activities, music, role play, improvisation, mask work, movement, puppetry. 

Behavioural therapy

The principle idea behind behavioural therapy is that our behaviour is learnt and can essentially be unlearnt. This leads behavioural therapy to focus more on the present as opposed to looking back to the past. This type of therapy is, therefore, best used with those looking to change their behaviour, for example, sufferers of addiction or those with a phobia.

Cognitive therapy

The way we think often leads to changes in our behaviour, and cognitive therapy looks to reconcile issues where they begin - in our thoughts. The therapy looks to address any skewed ways of thinking that may be occurring and eventually aims to replace them with healthier, more positive thought patterns.

Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT)

CBT looks to combine both cognitive therapy and behavioural therapy in order to tackle the thought process and the resulting behaviour. Focusing on the present, CBT is a practical therapy that aims to break down problems into smaller, more manageable issues. This therapy is especially useful for those with more specific problems as it addresses each emotion separately.

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is typically used to treat issues that originated from trauma, though it's starting to be used more widely for issues such as depression and anxiety. The therapy involves recalling the distressing event/feeling while following the therapist’s finger as it moves from side to side. The aim is to reduce the intensity of these memories over time.

Humanistic therapies

The humanistic approach is holistic in style, looking at factors such as free will, creativity and human potential. The therapy type encourages self-exploration, with many varieties focusing on the 'here and now'. Therapies that fall under this umbrella include Human Givens therapy, person-centred therapy and Gestalt therapy.

Psychoanalysis

One of the oldest therapies used in psychology; it was Freud who founded the psychoanalytic technique. The therapy takes a different approach to behavioural and cognitive therapies as it perceives our thoughts to be out of our conscious control. Instead, psychoanalysis believes any psychological issues stem from childhood and need to be addressed in order to be resolved.

What types does YWCS Offer?

At York Women’s Counselling we currently offer the following types of therapy:

·       Drama therapy

·       Behavioural therapy

·       Cognitive therapy

·       Humanistic therapies

What to expect from counselling and our process

How much does our counselling cost?

York Women’s Counselling Service aims to provide affordable counselling to women who need our help. However as a registered charity we rely on the contributions from our clients to help sustain the work we do, so that we can continue to support more women. We therefore have the following payment guidelines:

Donation amount based on your employment status

Full-time - £30

Part-time - £25

Unemployed - £15

We also have a hardship fund available for women who are unable to make any contribution towards their counselling. The appropriate payment for your counselling will be discussed with you during your telephone assessment.

How many counselling sessions can I have?

You will have a review of how your counselling is progressing at week 6, 12 and 17 of your counselling, with a view to completing your counselling with YWCS up to a maximum of 20 sessions. Counselling that continues beyond 20 sessions will only be in exceptional circumstances.

Our expectations of you

As a YWCS client we ask that you:

Attend every session, unless there are exceptional and unforeseen circumstances that make it difficult to do so. This is important for you to maximise on your therapy, ensuring that you consistently focus on your counselling without long gaps in-between. If you don’t feel able to commit to attending counselling regularly, then it may not be the right time for you to start.

It’s also important for us as a charity – we receive a huge demand for our service, so we want to make sure that the women who are using the service are getting the most out of it and are not creating long delays in allowing other women to begin their counselling.

If you have to cancel an appointment, make sure you give us a minimum of 24 hours’ notice – this will ensure that our counsellors are able to plan their day accordingly, and our counselling room can be used for other people if possible. Any missed appointments count as part of your session allowance and must be paid for if the appropriate notice hasn’t been given.

Ensure that you have the agreed amount of money for your counselling (if applicable). This will be agreed at your telephone assessment stage, and will be collected by your counsellor at the end of each session.

Complete an evaluation on completion of your counselling: this will help us to understand more about the service we are providing, and where we can continue to improve.