Person Centred Counselling Reigns Supreme

Don't get it twisted, I'm not here to bash anyone, start some kind of counselling turf war or blindly proclaim that Person Centred is best as if it's a competition. I'm simply here to champion my chosen modality. Scout's honour. Person Centred counselling has fallen out of vogue of late and it is LPG's mission to bring it back in style. It's a classic. An original. A trend setter. Often imitated but never replicated. If all this is true then why does it need me to champion it I hear you cry.

Well, I'm glad you asked. We currently live in a culture that wants results yesterday. We have everything at the click clack of our fingertips. We don't have to wait for food, clothes, sex, you name it there's an app for that. This has made us impatient. Nowhere is this more evident than with regards to our mental health.

People don't have time to be sad. They have responsibilities, jobs, families, partners. It's an inconvenience. So what do we do? We go the GP, take the recommended medication and wonder why we don't feel any better. We do online CBT courses. We go see a life coach, psychiatrist, psychologist, in times of desperation a psychic, anyone that can tell us what's wrong and how to fix it.

The problem with this is twofold. Firstly, no-one can tell you what's wrong and how to fix it and anyone that claims that they can is to be avoided for they are nothing more than a charlatan. Only you know where the hurt is and how deep it goes. Sure, people can sense pain and give offerings but this is only based on what you allow people to know and see of you.

Secondly and of no less importance, nothing is ever that simple. There is no one hurt, you do not have one insecurity that can be traced back to a singular event which can then be neatly dissected and put away. You are so much more complex than that. You are made up of all your experiences, past and present, rules and values placed upon you by your family, societal conditioning, the list goes on.

You are a continually evolving being and you deserve to give yourself the time, care and introspection required to heal any past hurt. It's a bit of a tired example but let's say you broke your arm, does it heal when you identify the source of the pain? Of course not. Why would you expect your mind to be any different? Change doesn't happen overnight. That may not be what people want to hear but it's true. It takes time, effort and a whole load of courage to sit with the things that are causing you distress.

This is Person Centred counselling’s strength. There is no rush, no pretence, no formula. There is a warmly held space, an empathic companion and time. As little or as much time as you require. Time to figure it all out. Time to decide what you want to use the space for. Time to decide when that space is no longer useful to you. You are in control and time is your power.

By Laura Finnell