Counselling
Exploring and understanding your feelings
When you come to counselling, you are given a space and time explore your issues, difficulties or problems, whatever they may be. Counselling can be helpful in finding a way out of painful states such as depression and anxiety, transforming stuck and unhelpful patterns of behaviour, such as disordered eating and other destructive behaviours.
Counselling can help you come to terms with a loss, bereavement or help to heal the traumas of your personal history. This can sometimes be very challenging yet can help you to grow and reach a personal understanding. Counselling is a unique experience where you will be encouraged and given the freedom to speak about anything that is on your mind with a neutral person. Trust in the relationship is paramount in making change happen. With commitment from both client and counsellor we can work through your issues together to achieve your desired outcome.
Once you have expressed your feelings you are usually less distressed and can begin to understand your reactions better. Your ability to use your own resources for working things out may then re-surface. Not everyone finds identifying and discussing their feelings easy. Your counsellor may suggest working non-verbally for example using art materials or objects to symbolise your experiences.
Sometimes people feel worse before they start to feel better because difficult experiences and feelings may get stirred up. For this reason it is good to discuss with your counsellor ways of taking care of yourself, soothing your feelings and how to find other support in addition to your counselling. This is especially the case if you are exploring childhood abuse or other major traumas.
Eating Disorders & Counselling
Eating disorders are about feelings and not about food.
Regardless of your eating issues, counselling can help you understand your feelings and emotions, make connections with your past and why you are feeling this way about yourself. Once you can understand where this thinking comes from, you will be able to make better sense of your eating. When you have a better understanding of this, you can then begin to have a choice in the way you think, behave and ultimately change your eating patterns.
Syeda has 2 qualified counsellors, offering appointments Monday-Wednesday & Friday. If you are interested in accessing counselling with Syeda please complete the self referral form on the Road to Recovery page.