Why Counselling?

People come to counselling for many different reasons. Sometimes it is a difficulty or a problem that brings people to counselling. It could be a small problem or one that seems so large it is overwhelming.

Some of the reasons that bring people to counselling are:

Many people find it helpful to talk to someone safe to get a clearer picture of their hopes and dreams or of what it is that is troubling them.

What happens in counselling?

Counselling is a place where you can talk and be listened to. You are the person who is the most knowledgeable on your life story. It is important to me that I am respectful in calling on your knowledge to help me understand what it is that has brought you to see me. I will ask you questions to help my understanding.

What is my counselling style?

The approach I use is called Narrative Therapy. This is a respectful, non-blaming approach to counselling that places you as the source of knowledge on your life story. It is based on the premise that:

• The person is not the problem – the problem is the problem
• Central to Narrative Therapy is the belief that you have the skill, commitment and ability to assist you to change your relationship with problems in your life.

Confidentiality

Anything told to me in counselling will remain confidential. The only exception would be if I believed either your safety or that of someone else was at risk.

I will probably take notes while talking with you. You are welcome to read and discuss any notes I take. After our conversation these will be stored in a locked filing cabinet.

As a counsellor I have a supervisor who helps me enhance and improve my skills. My supervisor is a very experienced counsellor and is not a member of the Carmel community. I could share some of your story with her. This would be done in a respectful manner. Your name would not be mentioned and your privacy would be protected.

I sometimes find it helpful to either audiotape or videotape interviews. I will review these to help improve my skills. I would always ask for your written permission before taping our conversation so if you are not comfortable about this please tell me. Not wanting to have our counselling session taped will not affect the counselling. Once the tape has been reviewed it will be deleted.

About me

Prior to becoming a Counsellor I was a teacher at Carmel College for 20 years including being a Dean for 10 years.

I am committed to the values of Social Justice that are intrinsic to the Special Character of Carmel College and to ‘making a difference’.

I am genuinely interested in the stories you have to tell. I look forward to exploring aspects of your story with you and in finding ways you can change your relationship with the story around your problem and to clarifying the stories around your hopes and dreams.

Dealing with dissatisfaction

I welcome your feedback. During counselling I will ask you about how you feel the conversation is going. This is a genuine request for feedback so please tell me if you are dissatisfied.

As a counsellor I abide by the guidelines laid out in the Counselling Code of Ethics. These can be found on the New Zealand Association for Counselling Website (www.nzac.org.nz). If you feel I have not met my obligations in any way please contact the Principal of the school, Mrs Kathleen Deady.

Counsellor: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it