It’s pretty safe to say that accepting that the services of a professional counsellor are needed represents a pretty difficult challenge in its own right. It’s one thing to acknowledge the fact that you’re in something of an undesirable situation – it’s something else entirely to seek professional help and guidance. Nevertheless, the appropriate assistance sought at the right time has the potential to help with a wide variety of everyday problems, which do not necessarily have to be strictly severe.
Should the decision had been made to seek professional council, it’s of the utmost importance to go about the process proactively and strategically. The simple fact of the matter is that not only are all professional counsellors on the market not cut from the same cloth, but certain counsellors are entirely unsuitable for certain problems and subjects.
So in order to ensure the best possible outcome, here’s a quick introduction to five common mistakes to avoid when seeking the services of a counsellor:
1 – Overlooking Specialism
First of all, it’s of crucial importance to remember that most counsellors specialise in a specific range of specialist subjects. As such, you need to think carefully about exactly what it is you are looking to bring to the attention of a counsellor, in order to ensure that the professional you choose is indeed a specialist in this area. It’s one thing to speak to the leading sex addiction counsellor in Kent with regard to a computer pornography addiction, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they will be the best counsellor to speak to for help with a gambling problem. Some counsellors cover all bases, whereas some limit themselves to one or two subjects – be sure to check this out before booking an appointment.
2 – Not Checking Feedback
The only evidence you really have to go on prior to making the booking and attending the appointment is the feedback of past and current clients. These days, pretty much every professional counsellor in business will have been reported back on by a wide variety of individuals – all of which can usually be found with a quick web search. It’s rare to find any professional that has literally 100% glorious and flawless feedback across the board – the occasional disgruntled client is impossible to avoid. Nevertheless, client feedback will always provide an excellent insight into how the counsellor performs in general.
3 – Expecting Overnight Results
Even in the instance of the world’s most reputable counsellors, it is absolutely impossible to guarantee overnight results. In fact, it is equally impossible to put any kind of accurate timeframe to the treatment of any given problem whatsoever. The reason being that each and every problem is as unique as the individual presenting it, meaning that there is genuinely no way of accurately predicting how a person will react or respond to any given counselling or treatment. Some make incredible turnarounds while others seem to take much longer than others to make any real progress. This is something that will not become apparent until the process gets underway, so to expect overnight results is to simply set yourself up for disappointment.
4 – Not Going with Your Gut
Along with professionalism, experience, competence and so on, one of the most crucially important considerations when choosing a counsellor is that of whether or not you ‘click’ with them. It may sound somewhat rudimentary, but if for any reason whatsoever the individual in question is one you do not like, cannot take seriously, do not trust or for any reason simply have a bad feeling about, it will be impossible for the help and advice they offer to have any real impact. You’re under no obligation to agree to the services of any counsellor, so be sure to go with your gut and walk away if it doesn’t feel right.
5 – Focusing Only on Price
Last but not least, the most outstanding counselling services on the market will never be offered free of charge, but more often than not, you get what you pay for. There’s a very clear reason why certain providers practically give their services away, while others charge premium rates – those in the latter bracket know how to get the job done. Once again, it’s important to remember that all professional counsellors are not cut from the same cloth and that focusing only on price could set you up for a big let-down. It isn’t necessary to overspend just for the sake of it, but nor is it a good idea to make your selection based on price alone.