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What is effective counselling?
Strong emotions like depression, anxiety and anger are at the root of why so many people seek help from GPs, counsellors, psychotherapists or clinical psychologists.[1] At any one time millions of people in the UK suffer from the negative effects of these emotions.[2] Despite their training many professionals are not good at dealing with the disruption that out of control emotions cause their clients. Some common forms of counselling, for example, are known to make depression and anxiety disorders worse.[3] Conversely, the right type of counselling is known to be more effective than drug treatments for all of these conditions.
Human givens therapy is in this category of counselling. It offers effective and practical help for people who are depressed, anxious, phobic, or suffering from trauma, addiction, anger disorders or relationship problems. It is effective because it draws on findings from psychology and neurobiology about how people really function, as well as international research studies that have established which counselling techniques are most effective.
Effective counselling/therapy checklist:
It is a good idea to use the following checklist (prepared by the ethical committee of ETSI) to protect yourself, or someone you know, from harmful types of counselling and psychotherapy:
An effective counsellor or psychotherapist:
- understands depression and how to lift it
- helps immediately with anxiety problems including trauma or fear related symptoms
- is prepared to give advice if needed or asked for
- will not use jargon or ‘psychobabble’ or tell you that counselling or psychotherapy has to be ‘painful’
- will not dwell unduly on the past
- will be supportive when difficult feelings emerge, but will not encourage people to get emotional beyond the normal need to ‘let go’ of any bottled up feelings
- may assist you to develop your social skills so that your needs for affection, friendship, pleasure, intimacy, connection to the wider community etc. can be better fulfilled
- will help you to draw and build on your own resources (which may prove greater than you thought)
- will be considerate of the effects of counselling on the people close to you
- may teach you to relax deeply
- may help you think about your problems in new and more empowering ways
- uses a wide range of techniques as appropriate
- may ask you to do things between sessions
- will take as few sessions as possible
- will increase your self confidence and independence and make sure you feel better after every consultation.
References:
1. Le Doux, J. The Emotional Brain (1998). Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
2. Source: MIND - National Association for Mental health.
3. Danton, W., Antonuccio, D. and De Nelsky, G. (1995). Depression: Psychotherapy is the best medicine. Professional Psychology Research and Practice, 26, 574. See also: Danton, W., Antonuccio, D. and Rosenthal, Z. (1997). No need to panic, The Therapist, Vol 4, No. 4. Any form of counselling that encourages excessive emotional introspection can prolong depression and anxiety.
VIEW: 'How to do effective counselling' seminar
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