Therapy is a very personal process. Sometimes it is necessary to talk about painful feelings or difficult decisions, so you may go through a period of feeling worse than when you started. However, therapy should enable you to feel better in the long-run.

If you do experience a period of feeling worse, talk to your therapist about it to ensure you get the best out of your therapy.

It is essential that you are ready to engage in therapy; that you are ready to make changes. Change is not easy, and you may find the process difficult. You are encouraged to be frank and open, even if there are painful issues. It is also important that you understand that while we will work though difficulties with you we cannot solve them for you.

Taking all that into consideration, usually it will take a number of counselling sessions before therapy starts to make a difference. However on rare occasions, a single session may be enough.

Therapy doesn’t work for everybody. It is not a universal cure-all. Because you may be talking about very personal and often painful things, it can sometimes be difficult to keep going. Despite this, it is often worth the effort as you can be helped to work through problems.

No. There are different methods and approaches to therapy, and your therapist will be able to talk to you about their particular method or approach.

Therapy can be just a few sessions and sometimes even one session may be enough. It may continue over several weeks or months. This depends on your individual situation. Your therapist should discuss this with you before and during your course of therapy.

Sessions will usually last no more than one hour although the first session, also known as the assessment session, may take longer.

Many people see their therapist once a week, but the frequency can vary according to your need and the type of therapy being offered.

Before you begin therapy, make sure you ask your therapist about the process they are choosing to follow, so that you know what the plan is from the start.

Revive offers Integrative therapy where several models of therapy are blended together according to the needs of each unique client.

No matter what approach is used, the relationship between you and your counsellor is key (known as the "therapeutic relationship"). Your counsellor will endeavour to work alongside you and offer you empathy in a confidential and safe space where you are not judged but accepted as a person of value.

PERSON-CENTRED therapy is the main approach. This therapy is based on the idea that you enter into the therapeutic relationship with your counsellor where you are allowed to freely express and explore any emotions and feelings. The aim is to enable you to come to terms with the negative feelings that may have caused emotional problems, and develop personal skills. The objective is for you to become able to see yourself as a person with power and freedom to change.

Depending on your needs your therapy may also include COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT) techniques and tools. CBT helps you identify and change unhelpful thinking styles which have become problematic for you i.e. negatively influence how you react or behave. You are encouraged to explore, challenge, and change unhelpful thoughts and expectations, with the use of exercises such as relaxation techniques, setting regular positive activities, and thought recording, to name but a few.

PSYCHODYNAMIC THERAPY may also be useful. This approach stresses the importance of the unconscious and past experience in shaping current behaviour. You are encouraged to talk with your therapist about childhood relationships with parents or main caregivers and other significant people as these relationships may have had a great influence on how you live as an adult today, shaping your personality. As you uncover and recognise these influences you are in a position to choose how to overcome hurdles they may have caused; developing emotional maturity and functioning better in the future.

The first appointment can also be known as the assessment session to see if counselling is suitable and could be helpful to you, or if the therapist's counselling style is suitable for you. This is done by the therapist listening attentively to your reasons for wanting counselling and the difficulties you are experiencing.

You may also be asked to complete a simple assessment form that helps describe your feelings. This assessment may be repeated occasionally to help understand your progress.

During this assessment session you and your therapist discuss and decide whether or not to continue to meet. If you both choose to continue, you will enter into a counselling agreement which covers, for example:

• length and number of sessions

• reasons why therapy may be terminated

• what you can expect from the therapist and yourself

• confidentiality

• boundaries

• what to do if you have concerns

If the therapist cannot be helpful about an issue or issues they will endeavour to refer or signpost you to an individual or agency specialised or experienced in this.

After the assessment you’ll start talking more about as much or as little as you want. You may decide not to bring everything into your first session or you may decide open up about everything. Your Counsellor will start to understand your challenges more and will start to get some insights into you. You’ll also start to understand more about how your Counsellor works and some insight into what you can expect.

You have the right to end counselling at any time... just give your counsellor as much notice as possible, and remember the cancellation policy (see details in FEES Section)

Some reaons for ending may be....

• You feel you have gained as much effectiveness from the process as you can and are ready to move on.

• You are not ready to continue - you would like to take a break or would like to see another counsellor who may adopt a different approach.

• As it is impossible for every counsellor to specialise in every "type" of counselling or every issue, your counsellor may discuss referral to another agency or counsellor with you.

• Repeated failure to attend appointments - this may be an indicator that either you have achieved what you want from the process so far, or that maybe you are not ready yet