Coming to counselling means you are open to change. Your choice is something to celebrate! You are making a commitment to collaborate with your counsellor – for however long you feel you need or want.
Your counsellor will support you to explore how change can be made. They will hold a confidential and supportive space for you while you bring the concerns that you have to the session. Allow yourself the space in daily life to receive reflections that will occur to you and bring these to each session so that they can be truly claimed, by you, in front of another person who deeply cares about your personal development. Your counsellor is your guide and cannot do the work for you.
Your session begins when you book your first appointment. Be prepared to create more space in your life for reflection to occur. You may find that by even thinking about your upcoming session you are already becoming more aware, noticing how you spend your time, and noticing what is nurturing you and what is not. The counsellor will ask you to note any changes and to bring them to the first session for them to be spoken about and claimed.
Your choice to come to sessions means that you are deepening in your self-love. This self-care will allow you to devote time to looking after your body, your diet, preparing for sleep and living well. Be aware that change can be uncomfortable, and we tend to be drawn to old patterns of comfort as a reward for our ‘efforts’.
Observe this in your life. Name those ‘apparent’ comforts (aka thieves of our precious time), whether they be snacking, shopping, tv, gossip or any of the many distractions we routinely grab for ourselves, like intrusive thoughts. Self-bashing is not allowed. Just accept what has occurred.
Instead, go walking, seek supportive company, nurture your body, perhaps by having a bath or a beautiful home-cooked meal. You may choose to journal and nominate (write down) these thieves of our precious time with ourselves. If you don’t like journaling, the nomination of the thieves can be verbal. They are still out in the open and accounted for and much less likely to grab you in future. Make a new start every time you discover the culprits!
Healing is a daily responsibility. A couple of suggestions to get you started: build a morning routine that supports you for the day. And start preparing for sleep approximately an hour before you go to bed, allowing yourself to wind down from the day.
Complete your homework that was agreed with your counsellor well before the next session so that you can notice changes that occur in between sessions. By making the space to experiment with new ways, you will discover that nurturing yourself comes naturally, making counselling a joyful experience, and who doesn’t want more joy in their life?