As a counsellor I often hear clients say after a few sessions, “I wish I’d done this before”. Having overcome initial concerns or scepticism about counselling, people are surprised at the benefits of talking through their problems.

They see that, even in the very act of describing their difficulties, a sense of clarity and lightness can emerge. Frequently people feel relieved of a burden of worries that have been circulating in their minds for months or even years. Over-thinking or pushing down troubling feelings and thoughts can seem like they're dealing with their problems. In therapy, they soon begin to see that this increases mental turmoil, thereby raising levels of anxiety or low-mood.

Talking to someone in a confidential space is a way of climbing out of feeling stuck in cycles of thought patterns that seem to have power over us. By gaining a wider perspective, of seeing other ways of reacting and relating, we can choose alternatives to the familiar and outworn perceptions that no longer seem to serve us.