Counselling

The Practice Rooms has become recognised as a major centre for counselling in Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Cheltenham and Salisbury

There are more than 50 counselling practitioners working independently here; each has their own particular approach to counselling so please check their individual entries and, where possible, their websites.

(T) after the name of a counselling therapist denotes Trainee.

What is counselling?

Counselling is an opportunity to explore in a confidential setting issues and problems you may be struggling with. Counselling covers the spectrum of human difficulties from loss of meaning to bereavement, relationship and sexual dysfunction, phobias to addiction, offering the possibility, within a confidential setting, of reflecting on the choices of the past and the possibility of different choices for the future.

What is the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?

According to the British Association of Psychotherapy, counselling aims to offer a neutral space for the patient or client to talk about problems. The act of talking about these with the counsellor often provides relief for the patient and can help them to look at things in a different way and to make decisions for change. Counselling tends to be supportive rather than challenging.

In psychotherapy and psychoanalysis the therapist will listen carefully to what the patient presents, at the same time paying attention to what is being communicated unconsciously, both verbally and in other ways, particularly in the relationship that develops between the patient and therapist. The term psychoanalysis is usually used to describe an intensive process in which the patient is seen four and five times a week.

National registers for psychotherapists and counsellors are maintained by three main umbrella bodies: United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC – formerly the British Confederation of Psychotherapists).