Therapy & Counselling: Understanding the Impact

What is Therapy/Counselling?

Therapy/Counselling is a safe, confidential and supportive space where you can talk openly about your thoughts, feelings, and experiences with a trained counsellor/therapist.

It helps you explore challenges, gain clarity, and build tools to manage life more effectively.

It isn’t just about addressing problems or being at crisis point, although a lot of people do come at this point, it’s also about wanting to gain insight, and develop growth and resilience with someone who doesn’t know you and keeps it confidential.

Talking about personal things with someone who doesn’t know you yet can feel strange in the beginning. However, our job is to make you feel safe and comfortable to talk, by being non-judgemental, empathic and we still like you no matter what you say; honestly, there’s not a lot we haven’t heard.

Many clients say that after a couple of sessions, it starts to feel natural. Remember, you’re in control of what you share, and the counsellor is there to support you at your pace. We do counselling ‘with you’ collaboratively.

Counselling works best when you attend weekly appointments. If cost could prevent you from attending weekly appointments, please speak to one of our receptionists about this to see if we can support you with costs.

Does Therapy Work?

We absolutely believe it does, yes.

Research consistently shows that therapy can reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and other challenges. More importantly, it helps people feel heard and empowered to make changes that will be meaningful to their life.

The effectiveness often depends on finding the right type of therapy and a therapist you connect with; and we can help with that.

The BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) in its Public Perceptions Survey 2025 found that 73% of all people who accessed therapy found it useful and 75% would recommend it to someone who was struggling with their mental health.

Benefits of Therapy

• Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression
• Improves relationships and communication skills
• Increases self-awareness and confidence
• Helps process trauma and difficult experiences
• Provides strategies for coping with daily challenges
• Encourages healthier habits and thought patterns

Data* informs us that anxiety (62%) is the number one presenting issue for attending counselling, followed by stress (51%), low mood (50%), confidence, self-esteem and support (28%) and sleep (26%), burnout at work (16%).

Do I Need Therapy?

You don’t have to be in crisis to benefit from therapy.

The BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) in its Public Perceptions Survey 2025 found 35% (29% men, 41% female) of the UK adult population had sought help from a therapist at some point in their life. In addition, 66% of people have experienced at least one mental health issues in the past five years.

Many people seek therapy when they:

• Feel overwhelmed, stuck, or burnt out
• Experience ongoing sadness, worry, or anger
• Struggle with relationships or boundaries
• Want to process past experiences
• Simply want to better understand themselves

If you’ve ever thought “I just need someone to talk to who understands”—therapy could help.

Is Therapy Worth It?

Absolutely.

Think of therapy as an investment in your mental, emotional, and even physical wellbeing. It’s a proactive step toward building a healthier, more balanced life. Just as we care for our bodies through exercise and nutrition, therapy helps us care for our minds and emotions.

Different Types of Therapy and Approaches

Therapy isn’t one-size-fits-all and the benefit of our centre is you have over 40+ counsellors to choose from with a hybrid of experience, training, approaches and qualifications.

Picking the right type of therapy can be confusing, but we can support with that.

Some of the most common types of counselling include:

• Individual counselling – one-to-one support for personal challenges
• Couples counselling – improving communication and strengthening relationships
• Family counselling – resolving conflict and building healthier family dynamics

Some common approaches (i.e., how do we work with you on your concerns), include:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Focuses on changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviours
• Person-Centred Therapy: Creates a supportive space where you lead the conversation
• Psychodynamic Therapy: Explores how past experiences shape current feelings and patterns
• Couples & Family Therapy: Helps improve communication and strengthen relationships
• Systemic Therapy: Looks at the bigger picture of your life, including family, relationships, and your social systems (family, friends, work colleagues). To understand how these connections influence your wellbeing.
• Integrative Therapy: Combines techniques from different approaches such as CBT, psychodynamic, and systemic) and tailors to your specific needs.

Our counsellors have trained in a diverse range of approaches.

In addition, our counsellors have additional post qualifying training in relationship counselling, sex therapy, sex addiction, family therapy and children and young peoples counselling.

Our centre is accredited by the BACP, and our team of counsellors are also individual members of professional bodies such as BACP, COSRT, BABCP, BPS, etc.

Preparing for Your First Session

It’s normal to feel a bit nervous before starting. You might want to jot down a few things you’d like to discuss or simply come with an open mind.

Confidentiality & Trust

Everything you share in counselling is confidential (with only a few legal exceptions around safety). This privacy allows you to speak freely, knowing your words stay in the room.

What next?

Booking an initial assessment is the best way to understand if counselling feels right for you.

There’s no obligation to continue afterwards, it’s simply a chance to meet, ask questions, and get a sense of whether counselling (and working with us), is right for you.

You can book online your initial assessment here or if you want to chat through the above, then please give us a call on 0116 2543011.