Counselling & Psychotherapy
Central London, Camden, Kings Cross, London NW1
Glen Gibson - Dip. Counselling, MA Psychotherapy, Dip. Psychotherapy
UKCP & mBACP Accredited Male Therapist, Counsellor & Psychotherapist

Aims & Benefits Of Therapy & Counselling London

Aims Of Counselling, Aims Of Psychotherapy Having an integrative counselling approach, the counselling and psychotherapy can help us integrate, synthesise the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual aspects of our wellbeing and :

• Allows us to also recognise that through suffering or crisis we evolve, grow, where positive transformation can occur
• Helps us heal our wounds, reconnect to any lost, young parts of ourselves
• Explores specific issues of confidence, esteem, identity, disidentification, projection
• Explores, validates our range of feelings, emptiness, loss, grief, including making sense of these
• Explores ways we support ourselves in vulnerable moment
• Explores the narratives we tell ourselves
• Explores what we do with our thoughts & beliefs, our reasoning & the weighting we put on things
• Helps make sense of our past in the context of our awakening Self
• Supports us in letting go of what we need to & be present in the moment
• Works with the interconnectedness of our body, feelings, mind, sexuality, spirituality
• Allows for what's emerging, our unconscious aspects
• Explores accessing our inner resources, strengths, qualities, personal boundaries, resilience, sense of worth
• Explores our motivation & will
• Encourages our self-determination, individuation & self-responsibility
• Promotes & facilitates self-acceptance & change
• Supports our growth, flourish & thrive
• Helps improve our relationships with others, the wider world & indeed our ourself
• Allows for our existential dilemmas
• Helps us explore meaning and purpose in our life, our creativity, spirituality, living our life to our full potential
• Explores our spiritual goals, experiences of spiritual consciousness

Benefits Of Therapy Counselling and psychotherapy benefits people, who in an open and honest way, want a deeper understanding of themselves, who are seeking a better place to be in.

Benefits Of Counselling - Impartial Support We are full of contradictions - our body, emotions, moods, thoughts or beliefs frequently change. In a complex and ever-changing world none of us have all the answers to all our struggles. We are complex beings, yet have simple needs. The world can be confusing, full of dilemmas, ambiguity, double-binds, paradox and risks (see also Changes & Transitions - Counselling London). It can be a challenge to tolerate frustration, difference, accept uncertainty and allow for the unknown and mystery in the world. We can't do everything on our own and at times can benefit from the impartial support of a counsellor or psychotherapist. The experience and aims of therapy can help enable us to be more accepting of who we are, others, and the constraints and limitations of the world.

Benefits Of Therapy - Managing Life's Transitions At some periods in our life we are in a transitional stage or reach turning points. Psychotherapy and counselling can assist people in managing their transitions. Therapy can also offer a space to allow for life's intangibles and existential concerns.

Benefits Of Psychotherapy - Being Heard & Understood For some people, knowing that they will be seeing a counsellor or psychotherapist on a regular basis can help relieve the sense of being on their own with their dilemmas. Sometimes simply talking to someone and being heard, understood or noticed can lift a weight off our shoulders and we may be more open, so we can manage things more easily.

Benefits Of Counselling - A Place To Talk About Difficult Things Psychotherapy and counselling can help a person talk about thoughts that they may not have been able to acknowledge or express before, or address important matters they have put off.

Benefits Of Therapy - Feeling & Thinking Differently Some people benefit from counselling, simply because it can be a space to feel their feelings, be in touch with their emotions or think differently about themselves in the world. The counselling and psychotherapy can help us notice our resistances, "defences", learn about them, filter and manage our feelings and thoughts, so we are more able to take charge of them.

Benefits Of Psychotherapy - Expressing or Containing Feelings The aims of psychotherapy can help enable people to manage unwanted feelings, without numbing them (e.g. through comfort eating, alcohol, overworking, overusing internet, pornography), avoiding them or acting them out. We may look at how freely you express or contain your feelings, what happens and how things get in the way. This can bring a sense of release and relief. (See also Emotional Responsibility, Emotional Energy, Emotional Health, Emotional Wellbeing, Emotional Evaluation, Emotional Strength, Emotional Resilience, Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Growth, Emotional Maturity - Being Emotionally Connected)

Freeing Ourself The counselling and psychotherapy is also about freeing ourself, moving away from what we don't want, towards what we do want. The therapy will look at how we also create our own situations by exploring the wisdom of our core beliefs, thinking patterns, assumptions and conclusions we draw, as well as the "domino effect" of such beliefs. It may be difficult to let go of what we hold on to, precious beliefs which no longer work. The therapy process may involve gaining a deeper understanding of who we are, so our impulses, responses and reactions are more in our control, without repressing or being overwhelmed by them. The therapy may consider our personal freedom, the nature of our free will, how we can free it and any obstacles, stumbling blocks, reluctances, etc. along the way, e.g.:

• Trying to hold on to certainties
• We have our own "sore spots" - our hurt, pain or wounds. We also have "blind spots" (and these may be unconscious) - a tendency for not seeing things we don't want to see or things we are not able to fully understand. Our blind spots can affect our attitude & behaviour, limit our potential. Uncovering our blind spots, transforming them into our strengths, may be important.
• The impact of our esteem
• Noticing our personal triggers & hooks, buttons which can get pressed
• How we take responsibility for our own feelings
• Tradition & social norms protect us from acting on impulse, yet may affect our own conscious thinking about "why we do the things we do".
• Our un-integrated shadow
• Our perceptions
• How we interpret our conscious & unconscious beliefs, where we may mistake our personal view as the reality. In psychotherapy we may look at or gently challenge any restricting beliefs, which may limit our choices. (See also Releasing Ourselves & Letting Go)
• Whether we choose to view our obstacles as mountains or challenges
• Whether & how we disidentify
• How to empower ourself, flourish, live an enriched life to our full potential

Benefits Of Therapy - Impact Of Our History Some problems may have started off small and have begun to snowball, having their origins in our history. Therefore counselling and psychotherapy provides the opportunity to revisit and address things, which we weren't emotionally mature enough to do as a child. We can't turn the clock back, but we can unpick the meanings and assumptions we have made so far, and discover whether they are still valid (see also Impact Of Our Past). A further aim of counselling and psychotherapy is to reflect upon the effect of "water that has flowed under your bridge" so far, and look at what this might mean for you now. Acknowledging that each of us is more than the influence of our history, we'll look at what works in your life, what doesn't and why some problems may continue.

Benefits Of Counselling - Releasing Old Patterns Counselling and psychotherapy considers what blocks us, the obstacles, reluctances in our life's patterns and triggers, those we are conscious of and others we are not (including our own fight, fight, freeze responses). The counselling may look at what keeps us stuck or suffering, what we keep doing to ourself - our maintaining cycles (see also Building, Maintaining, Scheduling Supportive Habits, Routines, Rituals, Patterns). We may explore the dynamics of our own personality - old ingrained, entrenched patterns (see also Patterns In Our Life), habits or traits, how we re-create familiar situations. The therapy may examine what's in our control, what's reactive, what's choice, e.g. "I felt this, and therefore I had to do that". With new insight we may understand who we are differently, and new meanings may emerge. (See also Releasing Ourselves & Letting Go)

Benefits Of Psychotherapy - Identifying & Increasing Our Strengths & Resources, Growing Inside So we don't just focus on the top layer of our life, the aims of counselling and psychotherapy are not only about reducing symptoms, being in touch with pain, misery and the upsetting things, it is also about healing what we need to heal, expanding, flourishing, living our life to our full potential. A further aim of therapy is to assist us developing, strengthening our thoughts, internal structures. This for some may include stepping outside our comfort zone. Alongside our spiritual or sexual growth, our growth may also include healing our past and current wounds, taking charge of our authentic life, achieving integrity and autonomy, acknowledging our interdependence, to respectfully relate with others acknowledging their difference, being emotionally healthy, open to how we are feeling, being, creative, alongside our search for meaning, love, relationship with ourself and others, to experience our own sense of wholeness and completion. The counselling can help identify our range of personality traits, our intrinsic qualities and sense of worth, character strengths, our own resources (see also Life Re-Appraisal - Our Internal Resources) and predispositions, flexibility and examine how qualities can be increased, used creatively and effectively. These qualities, along with our inner strength, personal empowerment, resilience, personal boundaries can support us in difficult times. Especially if a part of us struggles to grow up, we may also want to identify, increase our strengths, grow in other areas of our life:

• Expansion, Self-Growth, Flourishing, Thriving & Trusting Life - Nourishing It, Having Faith
• Growth mindset
• Our emotional growth
• Strengthening Relationship Communication - How We Relate
• Our Intimate & Loving Relationships Now - Strengthening The Secure, Loving Lasting Attachment Bond Between Each Other
• Sexual growth
• Relating With Others, Friendships - Building, Strengthening & Deepening Relationships
• Growing through the experience of our relationship
• Relationship growth
• Spiritual growth

Benefits Of Psychotherapy - Your Wellbeing Counselling can explore what gives you peace of mind and helps you to improve your overall wellbeing - how you look after yourself and others.

Benefits Of Psychotherapy - Integrating All Aspects Of Ourself The aims of therapy can help us synthesise, integrate all aspects of our personality, life's predicaments, including those which are intrinsic to us. The aims of counselling may therefore include helping us to understand the significance and meaning of our issues - what they say about us, our values, esteem, choices, motivations and way we live our life, putting our life into perspective, so we can deal with the present and future problems with inner strength and resilience. (See also Integrative Counselling Approach - Holistic Counselling)

Benefits Of Counselling - Connected To Our Core Self A challenge for some of us may to be more authentic, being in our core self - calm and centred, less from our self-image or being distracted by external influences. So a further aim of therapy may be to help us develop greater intimacy tolerance and capacity for autonomy (see also Being Autonomous Yet Part Of A Couple). The therapy may assist us in developing and building this deeper sense of ourself - our own centre, aware and able to reflect, with the ability to make choices and act with intention. The counselling and psychotherapy can also be a space to discover the nature of our intentions.

Benefits Of Therapy - New Perspectives Some problems may never be overcome - we can't get rid of all difficulties, yet our attitude and relationship to them can change. As our feelings or outlooks change, we make different meanings, our problems seem to diminish, or may be approached and managed differently. We can also transform the way we see ourself and the world, as new perspectives emerge.

Benefits Of Counselling - Our Potential Sometimes the aims of therapy may need clarity, direction and acknowledging the impact of the unconscious, the process of therapy also evolves as a journey of exploration. The aim of counselling is also to help us live our life to our full potential.