Everyone goes through times in life when nothing seems to be right. It may be that you feel hopeless or frightened and you do not know what to do. Things may just not be working out for you, the harder you strive for something the less accessible it seems to be; sometimes it seems that there is no way to turn.

Most people have feelings like this from time to time and they manage without a counsellor, but many do not; they become stuck, it becomes a way of life. Then life is colourless, flat and unfulfilling and you will need help to find your way again. That help can come from a counsellor or psychotherapist.

Counselling is a talking cure. What is offered is a place to be yourself, to find someone who will really listen to you. Not like a friend or a family member who will have their own hopes or fears about the outcome, but with someone who has had years of training to separate out what they feel from what you are feeling, someone who will do you the immense courtesy of listening in great depth to what is going on for you and then try to help you see it yourself. It sounds simple but to be seen deeply is not easy and not always comfortable, we may think it better to stay as we are. But if that is the case why are we in the state we are now in? Help to see ourselves as we truly are is the beginnings of reconstructing a life that is more satisfying and more fulfilling and possibly quite different from where we are today. It takes courage, but this is our one life, it is not a rehearsal!

Counselling or Psychotherapy
These terms are often used interchangeably as if they were the same thing. In fact they are similar but not the same, though it is reasonable to see psychotherapy as a deeper form of counselling. The psychotherapy training is longer and will have involved the therapist in a deeper level of personal therapy. Another rule of thumb is that counselling normally involves once weekly sessions whilst psychotherapy is normally twice or three times weekly. Alpha-M offers both forms of therapy and will recommend which seems most appropriate, though the choice is always yours!

Choosing a therapist
This is very important but also very confusing for someone who just knows that they need help. There are many schools and orientations of therapist but what is more important is that the therapist is competent and in good standing with the profession. Unfortunately at present, in the absence of a mandatory register, anyone can call themselves a counsellor or therapist and set up a practice, so it is extremely important that you should check the goodstanding of a potential therapist with a professional body. In practice this means that you should look for a therapist who is accredited by BACP or registered by UKCP or BCP. We, at alpha-M, are accredited by BACP.