Counselling

Counselling is known as a talking therapy. Our sessions give you a safe and supportive space to explore your personal feelings, beliefs and thoughts, with someone who is trained to do it sensitively.

Counselling can help you deal with emotional and mental distress. That might include anxiety, stress, hopelessness, depression, sadness, grief, loneliness, mood swings, changes in relationships, low self-worth, and fears about your illness and mortality.

Your counsellor will give you the chance to think and talk about yourself in a way that you often can’t with family and friends. They will:

• Listen to the way you feel and how this affects you and others.
• Accept the way you are without judging you.
• Help you to make the changes that you would like to happen.
• Work hard to create a good therapeutic relationship with you so that you can work well together.
• Understand that it is not always easy to talk about problems and to express feelings.
• Work with you towards improving your wellbeing and coping strategies.

One-to-one counselling sessions are available to all patients, carers, friends and family members. Counselling can be just a few sessions or it can last over several weeks and months.

What you talk about in your counselling sessions is confidential. However, there are certain circumstances when the counsellor may need to talk to another professional, if there appears to be a serious risk of harm to you or to others. This is usually done with your agreement and these circumstances are explained at the beginning of the counselling.