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If you are a in a relationship – regardless of either of your sexualities – and you are having relationship problems after an HIV test gave a positive result then contact me, Dean Richardson, today to arranging a no-obligation initial session to see if couples counselling could be suitable for both of you. My contact details are here, or you can click here to send me a secure email .

Counselling following an HIV Diagnosis.

It is not unusual for a couple – gay, lesbian or straight – to come to see me for couples counselling after one (or both) have been diagnosed as HIV positive.

• Sometimes the couple therapy is about the shock of receiving a positive diagnosis.

• Sometimes the counselling is about trust issues raised by one partner being diagnosed.

Whatever the root reasons of seeking couples counselling, Dean is a qualified and experienced couples counsellor who works with couples that have received a positive HIV diagnosis.  His couples counselling service can help a couple negotiate their way through difficult problems resulting from HIV diagnoses.

The GU clinic may give you and your partner support after an HIV positive diagnosis, but longer term therapy is available privately through meeting with Dean Richardson.

What to do next.

You don’t need to be referred to Dean via your local GUM clinic, nor your doctor.  Initiating private counselling is totally up to you and is a confidential service that can compliment the medical treatment that you will continue to receive through your GUM clinic and/or your doctor.

Click to contact me for more information or to make an appointment.

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Couple Counselling

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Date: 15th May, 2010.
Trainer: Brett Morris.
Cost: £45/£35
Location: Chichester Counselling Services.

Making the transition from either training or agency work into private practice can seem daunting to begin with. This one-day workshop aims to de-mystify the process, and to provide participants with some practical tools in making this transition.

Brett Morris trained as a psychodynamic counsellor and psychotherapist at WPF Therapy, and holds a MA in Psychodynamic Theory and Practice from Roehampton University. He has provided therapy in agency settings, the NHS, and for Employee Assistance Programmes. He is in full-time private practice in London.

Click for more information from Chichester Counselling Services.

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Support for Student Counselling (Portsmouth, Chichester).

Dean works with student counsellors who are seeking counselling to support them during their training.

If you are a student whose course requires they seek their own counselling, the following criteria might help you decide if Dean might be a suitable counsellor for your needs:

• He is a BACP accredited counsellor of over ten years’ experience.
• He works psychodynamically with individuals (systemically & psychodynamically with couples)
• He adheres to the BACP Ethical Framework (see Ethical Framework).
• He seeks and attends the BACP required minimum of 30 annual hours CPD.
• He receives regular supervision appropriate for his workload.
• His negotiable fees structure caters for a sliding scale – although places are limited (see “Fees”).

Some training – particularly psychodynamic counselling – requires the student to be in therapy for the whole time that the student is training.  This is essential as the student counsellor is required to use their self-awareness to assist in the client’s therapy.

Some training requires a set number of hours (decided by the training institution) to be achieved by the end of each training year.

I will negotiate with you your needs for counselling support, and in our assessment we can decide if working with him may (or may not) be suitable for you whilst training as a counselling student.

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Couples Counselling.

Couples counselling can help with:-

What’s on offer from the couples counsellor?

Considering couples counsellors who are systemically & psychodynamically trained, the couples counsellor does not attempt to “fix” the relationship for you nor offer instructions, that if the couple follow, will find that their problems go away.  This realisation can be a big disappointment for a couple who feel that they have exhausted all possibilities themselves and who are seeking professional help to “cure” them.

However, the couples counsellor does take on a role of being curious towards the relationship, learning about how the relationship came together, each partner’s individual history, the history of the relationship, asking about how things work in the relationship, challenging assumptions made by partners about the other partner, asking questions that address the functioning of the relationship and making (and encouraging from the couple) tentative hypotheses about how the relationship has come to function in the way that it does (the relationship’s “system”).

The intention of learning about the relationship system is to be able to challenge some of the couple’s perspective about their relationship, affording the couple newer opportunities to make alterations for themselves and helping them to communicate more successfully than previously.  By peturbing the relationship system, the couple are afforded newer ways of looking at things and can help them to choose what they would like to change having gained such new knowledge.

All of this counselling work takes place in a safe(r) environment (the counselling room) away from your home (although you can set yourself homework too, with the counsellor’s help, if you wish).  The counsellor is always present during the session.  Sessions are weekly and last for 50 minutes.

Checking if the couples counsellor is right for you (both).

It is good practice to check a couple’s counsellor’s professional qualifications and what professional body(ies) the therapist is a member of.  You may also want to experience the counsellor’s style for a session or two, because all counsellors who are trained in a particular model of counselling do not all implement their practice in quite the same way.  A good counsellor will meet with the couple for an assessment – to discover the presenting issues, to discuss what the focus of the counselling work should be, and for everyone to determine if entering into couples counselling is right for everyone at this time.

Even if the therapist appears to have all the right qualifications, trust your instinct.  If the therapist does not feel right for you (and you feel that you cannot discuss this with the therapist), go and find someone else.

Coming to counselling together … or …

Couples counselling works by offering counselling towards the couple’s relationship, as opposed to offering counselling to two individuals. Therefore, it’s advisable to come to counselling together.  If that is not possible, you can still seek individual counselling to help you personally with your relationship problems.

Make an Appointment.

Send me a message to make an appointment or an enquiry for Couples Counselling.

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Date: 27th February, 2010.
Trainer: Sue Esau.
Cost: £45/£35
Location: Chichester Counselling Services.

Chichester Counselling Services will be running a workshop: “Couples in Conflict” on February 27th, 2010.  This experiential workshop is open to all qualified counsellors interested in learning more about working with couples in conflict.

For details see: http://www.ccs-counselling.com/2009/12/17/couples-in-conflict-cpd/

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Introduction.

Finding a counsellor can be a straightforward process if you know of some helpful things to look for.

A current problem (2010) is that counselling and psychotherapy is not yet governed by UK law.  Anyone can advertise themselves as a counsellor or therapist without actually having any professional training, appropriate qualifications or any actual experience.  Unfortunately, this means that the client seeking therapeutic treatment can be quite at risk.

This post describes how to find a suitable therapist – and offers some topics to check out with your potential therapist.  At your first meeting, most – if not all – appropriate therapists should not be phase by you asking these questions.

Advice for Clients.
Read: “How to get the best out of your therapist”
(c) BACP – 2010

Search a Professional Body

An easy way to find a suitable therapist is to use a professional therapists’ body that offers a “find a therapist” type of service. The therapists listed may have had to pay for an entry, but would also have had their qualifications checked before being allowed to pay for an entry in the list.  It’s a good place to begin searching for a therapist.

• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
  http://www.bacp.co.uk/seeking_therapist
• British Association for Psychotherapy
  http://www.bap-psychotherapy.org/
• The British Psychological Society
  http://www.bps.org.uk/

… however, if you wish to find your own therapist – or you would like some advice on what to check out about your potential therapist – then read on.

Finding your Own Therapist.

Finding your own therapist can be easier when you want to find a counsellor with specific criteria.  Sometimes professional bodies do not include such criteria.  Use search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing to begin your search – and then refer to the information below about what you might want to check about each potential therapist.

Qualifications.

Does the counsellor has a recognised qualification in counselling.

Diplomas and Degrees – check that the qualification included actual supervised practice (eg 100 hours counselling practice to achieve the qualification).  Having a qualification in the theory of counselling without any actual practice may be insufficient for your needs.

Certificates in counselling may not include any actual practice to gain the award if they are just certificates of attendance.

Membership of Professional Body.

Is the counsellor a registered member of a professional body?  Do they subscribe to a recognised code of ethics or an ethical framework for their therapeutic work?  Is there anyone to whom you could report your complaint if you needed to?

Special interest/experience.

Does the counsellor have any special interests or special experience in working in particular therapeutic areas?

Theoretical approach.

There are different forms of counselling and psychotherapy – and whilst it’s the relationship between therapist and client that is shown to matter, some approaches might suit you better than others.

See Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_psychotherapies for information on therapy models.

Who does the counsellor work with?

Does the counsellor state what types of person they can work with (eg adults, couples, young people, children, elderly etc).

“This is how I work”.

Does the counsellor give you an idea of how they work therapeutically?

Fees.

Do you understand what the therapy will cost?

Supervision.

Counselling supervision is a formal meeting in which the counsellor meets with a qualified supervisor (or another counsellor) to review their clinical work.  Sometimes their professional development and their personal development is reviewed too – depending on the counsellor’s needs. A supervisor is not a managerial role, but more of a professional service designed to support the counsellor.

Is the counsellor taking regular supervision?  Some therapists’ professional bodies require the therapist a minimum amount of supervision every month (eg 90 minutes).

Continual Professional Development.

Does the therapist make you aware that they attend CPD (a form of contining their training and experience throughout their practice).  Some professional bodies, such as the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy, require that the counsellor obtain a specific number of CPD hours per year.

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