About Counselling & Psychotherapy

Through Counselling or Psychotherapy, I can provide you with a space to promote exploration and understanding of the reasons and issues that are at the bottom of your concerns.

Would Counselling or Psychotherapy suit you?

Counselling and Psychotherapy is suited to anybody who feels unsatisfied and unhappy in their relationships, at work, for those who feel they have few or no options in life. Feeling low, discontent, lacking motivation and energy are symptoms of unaddressed issues that Counselling or Psychotherapy can help you to understand.

The difference between Counselling and Psychotherapy

Counselling is more focused, and usually addresses a specific issue, such as bereavement and divorce. I can help you and support you to find a way of getting through the difficult times.

Psychotherapy is a more in-depth and open-ended approach. In a safe environment, I will help you to explore past experiences and understand how these affect you in your present life and relationships. It aims to unfold meanings and promotes a greater awareness of the causes and effects of long-standing conflicts, allowing you to make more significant changes in your life and outlook. The process of discovery in Psychotherapy can take months or even years. I can help you in this journey.

Initial consultation

The initial consultation to discuss counselling and psychotherapy and how it could be arranged last approximately 1 hour.
This time is used to explore the current problem, relationships, social aspect and work situation, past experiences including what happened in childhood, and the most appropriate form of help you may need.
Sometimes it is helpful to arrange a second appointment to continue an evaluation of the situation in more detail.

Duration of the therapy

Therapy can be time-limited or long-term. In both it is important to ensure continuity and attendance at regular intervals. This depends on the needs of the individual.

Time limited therapy is appropriate to address an issue in a focussed way. Sometimes this may mean that other problems are put on hold and attended to at a later stage, when life and emotional circumstances allow it. A minimum number of six sessions but possibly more time is needed: 6 months to a year could be advisable.

Long-term therapy may be desirable when emotional difficulties and problems are of a long-standing nature. For example, when there is a recognisable non-functional repeated patter in relationships. In long-term therapy, the number of sessions can be one or two times weekly sessions of 50 minutes. The frequency of sessions depends on the level of distress or anxiety, e.g. if this is very high it may be more helpful to talk about things more often. More times can allow you to create the necessary space to get in touch with your feelings and emotions that at times can be difficult knowing.

The Benefit you can expect

Therapy is an opportunity to discuss and explore your thoughts and feelings with a qualified psychotherapist who is able to listen to and encourage you in this journey together. Together we will take a deeper look into your feelings and concerns in order to facilitate and promote change.

Therapy does not require you to prepare a subject to be discussed. Often it is helpful to look at what is in your mind and to allow the time for those patterns of relating and functioning in everyday life to emerge, giving us the opportunity to identify where things usually go wrong. Similarly, past and present patterns of relatioships will be repeated in the relationship between the therapist and the individual, offering the possibility to examine this dynamic closely and reflecting on what happen within the individual and when in relation to others.

The therapeutic process can at time make you feel anxious and insecure about the benefit of the whole experience. At times, you might think that therapy is not for you and want to leave. This is often a reaction to the process of self-discovery and it is perhaps the most important time as it is when the greater changes can take place.

Tel: 07956 194263
Email: info@LauraLiverottiCounselling.co.uk