Couple Counselling Alliance

Frequently Asked Questions
	For more information, please click on the questions below 1. When's the right time? 2. Should we come together or alone? 3. What will happen during counselling? 4. How does Counselling work? 5. Is it confidential? 1.When's the right time? Far too many couples see counselling as a last resort. However if you're experiencing any of the following: When you talk to your partner, it sometimes feels as though you're hitting a brick wall Your conversations often just go round and round in never-ending circles After you've talked, you feel frustrated and confused You can't talk for more than a few minutes without it turning into a shouting match or one of you leaving the room You're afraid that if you bring up a certain subject, things will get even worse There's nothing left to say Now is the time to consider counselling. Back to questions 2. Should we come together or alone? Ideally, you should come to counselling together: it's hard to build a team if only half the players are there! Often, if one person makes the decision to give counselling a try, their partner will decide to go too. If your partner refuses to join you, there are lots of things counselling can help you sort out on your own. There may be changes you can make alone that will have a positive impact on your relationship. Some people also prefer to have counselling on their own at first to work out their feelings before seeing another counsellor as a couple. Back to questions 3. What will happen during counselling? Broadly speaking all Couple Counselling Alliance counsellors’ will help you to work through the following three steps: 1. Exploring your story - the nature of the problems and what impact they're having on you and your relationship. The history of how the problems arose and what changes you'd like to see. 2. Understanding your story - why you're struggling with these problems and the things that may be preventing you from overcoming them. 3. Rewriting your story - finding the strengths and resources to resolve your difficulties, or at least make them more bearable. All our counsellors will try to help you relearn how to talk to each other in ways that have a positive impact on the quality of your relationship. Back to questions 4. How does Counselling work? First and foremost, counselling works by giving you the chance to be heard. You can expect to be really listened to by someone who is interested in you and what you have to say. It's an opportunity to look at the problems you face in a different way with someone who'll respect and encourage your opinions and decisions, and who won’t be afraid to challenge you about your own behaviour and what you say that may be unhelpful to improving your relationship. For many couples, the solution is right under their noses - it just takes someone objective to see what it is. Couple Counselling Alliance counsellors encourage you in a supportive environment to take risks in relating to each other differently. Back to questions 5. Is it confidential? Yes. All Couple Counselling Alliance counsellors are members of professional counselling or psychology organisations and abide by a code of ethics which includes a complaints procedure. They have a professional responsibility to safeguard all the information that you disclose to them. On very rare occasions counsellors may need to tell somebody else about you – e.g. if you or someone else is at risk of serious harm. CCA counsellors work with the utmost integrity and would endeavour to discuss with you if and when they needed to disclose any information about you. Back to questions

Couple Counselling Alliance

For more information, please click on the questions below