These faqs (frequently asked questions) have emerged out of my counseling experience. I feel that trying to express counseling in words is an interesting attempt to convey a subjective experience using pointers. However, at times, such an effort may help us understand a few things about counseling and in what form I offer the service.
This is a very broad question. Let us try to understand a few facets about the query.
If you ask this question to people who have experienced counseling, most probably, you will receive different answers. Some reasons for such varied responses may be as follows:
Counseling is a subjective experience and, hence, each one of us experiences it differently
Also, being a subjective experience, it is slightly challenging to express the entire counseling experience in words
In addition, counseling has many schools of thought and, so, is practiced in many different ways
Interestingly, two paths emerge to help us progress in this journey of understanding counseling. Let me try to express them in the next two discussions.
You can form an idea about counseling by listening to the counseling experience of other persons, reading about counseling, watching movies which beautifully depict the details of a counseling relationship, etc. However, your counseling experience may be pretty unique. One of the reasons is that counseling is an experience. In addition, I provide a safe listening space and you guide the process of what you want to experience in that space at that moment.
You may have to experience counseling yourself to discover what it means to you.
Please refer to the welcome page for a description of the counseling I offer and the various formats in which I offer the service.
As you and I start fellow traveling in counseling, I love being centered in the Person Centered Approach of Carl Rogers. Once the relationship develops, you guide the process and take us to the spaces where we need to travel and the manner in which you want to do so. In addition, I feel blessed and inspired by a lot of humans and a lot of things. All these things, beings and philosophies influence my being, which I offer in counseling.
Honestly, you will know once you experience it. Most humans love the experience of being listened to in a complete, safe and non-judgemental manner. This may help us feel safe, assured, understood and supported, and experience our inherent intelligence, beauty, power and completeness.
Some people use the counseling space to work through their confusion, process their emotions, understand themselves better, work through challenges in their relationships, relieve themselves of stress, completely express and understand an idea that they are working on, experience their joy and a lot of other things. These can be broadly categorised under the three major roles of counseling - remedial, preventive and developmental.
In the remedial role, the counseling relationship is used to work through challenges that a person or group is experiencing.
The preventive role tries to anticipate problems and use tools, such as psychoeducation, to, possibly, forestall issues. For example, regular group counseling sessions can be organised throughout the academic year to facilitate 10th grade students in dealing with examination stress.
The third role of counseling is known as developmental or educative-developmental. Here the individual or group is absolutely functional and want to use the counseling space to discover and actualise themselves further.
Interestingly, most of us have all these three needs and, hence, many people start their counseling process by using one of its roles, say preventive, and expand to the other roles. Generally, individuals and groups tend to experience all the three roles of counseling, at different degrees, during their counseling journeys.
Currently, I am only facilitating sessions over phone.
Please contact me to mutually agree upon a time to have our session.
I absolutely understand your need. However, to deeply listen to you, I need to be available. If you want to speak and I am available at that moment, then it is perfect; we can surely have a counseling session. Otherwise, please set up an appointment for your session.
The need of every individual is different and hence the number of sessions each person needs will vary. Also, every (individual) counseling session is a complete experience and so lot of clients have very deep experience even in their first individual counseling session. However, there is a process element to counseling as well. Once you get comfortable with the process and are more aware of your need, you can beautifully guide yourself in the counseling process; my experience has been that most people take about six to eight individual counseling sessions to become that comfortable and aware.
There are quite a few movies that beautifully depict the relationship between a person and his/her counselor or therapist; Good Will Hunting is one such movie.
Please note that a movie can help you form an idea about counseling. However, as all humans, including counselors, are unique; hence, your counseling experience will be pretty unique.