What is Counseling?

Counseling is a process whereby you can have a safe and supportive space to explore what’s on your mind or in your heart. We sometimes need a place to reflect on our experiences or explore a crisis or dilemma with a trained counselor. Specialized help might also be needed when faced by trauma or clinical conditions.
The counsellor doesn’t judge you or your experience in any way.
The counselor knows that we all go through difficulty at some point or the other. The counselor also knows how transformative it can be sometimes when we can share things in a space of respect and trust and endeavor to hold the space for you so you can access your own knowledge and wisdom.

What is the type of counseling or psychotherapy that the Just Being team of counsellors would engage in?

We at Just Being are trained in Mindfulness and Presence Oriented forms in counseling and psychotherapy. We also combine other methods in counseling like somatic, or cognitive work or art based approaches, depending on our individual specializations.

Read More about the approach: Click Below

Mindfulness and Presence Oriented Counseling and Psychotherapy

What happens in the counseling process? How might I benefit?

Sometimes clarity and insight can emerge for you during this process.
Sometimes a deep awareness and understanding for why you feel the way you do.

Sometimes there is a path or the next step that opens up through the process.

What is the role of the counselor? How is it different from talking to a friend, colleague or family member?

A counselor facilitates the process by a particular way of listening that he or she is trained in, so that what’s important to you and for you emerges. The counselor accompanies you step by step in this exploration. 
A counselor is trained to listen deeply and reflect to you the important threads of what you are saying and feeling and sometimes what you have left unsaid and not yet fully expressed or in touch with. 

When this comes into the light of your awareness, you see it clearly and are able to take some clear steps to support yourself and move in a life affirming direction. Each session is really dependent on what emerges for you and what is the best way to attend to whatever emerges. 

Here the counselor can be supportive by simply listening or inquiring with you about some aspect. The counseling or listening space is different in these ways from how it would be to talk to a friend, colleague or family member.  The time is dedicated by the counselor especially for you and the space is solely for whatever you would like to explore or for what emerges during a session.

What do I talk about?
You can talk about anything that’s on your mind. We often hold our experiences within ourselves and don’t share it with others for fear of being judged or not wanting to burden anyone with how we feel or what feels challenging for us. 

Sometimes it doesn’t feel safe or supportive to speak what is truly in our hearts even with friends or family. You might not know what you want to talk about. And it is okay not to know that beforehand. 

You don’t need to know `exactly’ what is the help you are looking for. Sometimes we just feel a background anxiety or apprehension. Sometimes we just feel we are out of sorts, not really ourselves. We don’t feel resilient within ourselves.

 
Sometimes we are just confused and unclear about a particular life situation or a relationship or we may just simply feel stressed out. 

Sometimes we know we have tried out everything within our current capacity and don’t know anymore the way forward or the way out.

 Not knowing is a perfect place to begin in counseling. As you speak to your counselor, greater clarity might emerge as to what is making your feel upset or stressed out and therefore what are the steps that emerge for you to take care of yourself or the situation. 

Something fresh usually comes when we sit and inquire together into these unknown spaces.

How many sessions may I need? The counseling process is built on a felt sense of safety and trust that you feel as you explore things with a counselor. It does need time. Brief counseling sessions would range from three to six sessions. 

Sometimes one session might feel sufficient. 

Sometimes sessions may be needed for a longer period of six months to one or two years or more. 

Each individual and life situation is unique in how things have come together and therefore how it might unfold.

How long does a session last?

A counseling or psychotherapy session usually ranges from 45 to 60 mins. Your counselor will decide with you what is needed and appropriate for you.

What is the frequency of sessions?

Sessions are mostly held once a week. If there is a need to have more or less frequent sessions, it can be decided by you and the counselor.

 Counseling and psychotherapy is a mutually collaborative process between you and the counselor.

Is Counseling for everyone?

Counseling can be for anyone and everyone who wants to explore some aspects about themselves or their lives or simply to have a safe space to talk and explore what’s on their mind. 

Anyone can be benefitted from the counseling process. There are different approaches in counseling and it might take a while to see what is the approach that is best suitable to facilitate your own process. 

Sometimes we can be faced with little storms and sometimes some big ones. It’s always beneficial to talk about it in a safe space.