Counseling
Counseling is a talking therapy involving a trained therapist listening and helping you find ways to deal with your emotional issues. People often refer to counseling as talking therapy, but counseling is a distinct type of therapy.
Counseling purposes
Counseling can help you with:
- Several mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, or eating disorder
- Disturbing physical health conditions like infertility
- Challenging life events like relationship breakdown or work stress
- Other issues include sexual identity
Counseling procedures
At your appointment, the therapist will encourage you to talk about your emotions and feeling while listening to you entirely and supporting you without criticizing or judging.
The therapist will aim to help you better understand yourself, your feelings, and your thought process. They will guide you to find solutions to meet your problems without directly advising or telling you what to do.
Counseling can happen in:
- Real, face-to-face (often people prefer this format of counseling)
- In a group (anonymous meeting)
- Over the phone
- Through email
- Online via live chat services
- Online through video calls
The therapist might offer you a single counseling session, a short course of sessions for weeks or months, or a long course of sessions for several months or years. It can take sessions before you start to see your progress, but you will gradually begin to feel better with the support and help of your therapist.
Reviewed by – Dr. Priyanka, MBBS MD Microbiology
Page last reviewed: 16 JULY 2022