4-Bereavement/Grief Counselling

Bereavement is the time an individual spends coping with loss. Although grieving is normal, these emotions can sometimes manifest in unhealthy forms. Individuals might get extremely angry, become withdrawn, or turn emotionless. Moreover, these unhealthy behaviours can lead to mental health problems like depression.

Bereavement counselling helps individuals navigate through grief and cope with loss healthily. By using talking therapies, bereavement counselling brings individuals to a point where they can function normally, irrespective of how long the process takes. The loss can never be replaced, but counselling aims to build a new life and find a new purpose.

5-Counselling for Domestic Violence/Abuse

Domestic violence/abuse involves physical, mental, emotional, sexual, and financial exploitation. The latter is generally done by someone the individual is close to, such as a close friend, romantic partner, or family member.

Counselling for domestic violence/abuse helps individuals recognise the signs of abuse. It also helps them reevaluate and rationalise their thoughts and behaviours. The techniques and approaches used during counselling include:

• Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT): helps reframe negative thoughts and improves self-esteem
•  Assertiveness techniques: learning to say ‘no’ and being firm in actions and behaviours
•  Grounding techniques: learning to stay calm and in touch with yourself, for example, taking long breaths and sipping cold water to reduce anxiety

6-Depression Counselling

Depression is a mood disorder often accompanied by self-loathing, unworthiness, irritability, indecisiveness, and lack of self-esteem and motivation. Living with depression is not only difficult for the individual in question, but it also affects those around them.

Treatment for depression encompasses a variety of options, the most common and often used in combination being counselling psychotherapy, and medication.

The types of counselling and psychotherapy used in treating depression include:

• Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT): helps individuals recognise and cope with negative thoughts and reshape their unhealthy behaviour patterns.
• Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MCT): uses elements of CBT and mindfulness techniques, such as meditation and breathing exercises, to help identify and modify an individual’s relationship with negative thought patterns. 
• Interpersonal therapy (IPT): focuses on how mental health influences relationships and vice versa
• Psychodynamic therapy: focuses on how an individual’s unconscious thoughts influence their behaviour and helps uncover subconscious emotions and experiences.
• Art therapy: utilises artistic modes to help individuals discover their emotions

7-Counselling for Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are categorised as multifactorial mental health disorders that involve an individual’s relationship with eating, food, and themselves. Eating disorders adversely affect an individual’s emotions, sociability, and physical appearance.

Depending on the type of eating disorder they are struggling with, individuals usually have distorted thinking patterns. For instance, they may hear voices or see a different version of themselves in the mirror than the basic version – this is where counselling helps.

Counselling for eating disorders involves monitoring physical health and understanding the inherent psychological causes that lead to an individual developing unhealthy eating habits. Although treatment largely depends on the type of eating disorder and the individual’s preferences, common options include:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

•  Family therapy
•  Interpersonal therapy (IPT)

8-Counselling for Low Self-Confidence

Confidence stems from how others perceive an individual, how they present themselves, and what they can achieve. Self-confidence involves trusting one’s judgement and being content with one’s abilities. While it’s normal to experience low self-confidence, persistent feelings of low confidence can negatively impact mental health.

Counselling for low self-confidence helps individuals recognise where their inherent negative thoughts originate from and make them challenge their negative emotions and behaviours. Moreover, counselling teaches individuals various techniques and strategies to help develop self-confidence and modify negative thought patterns.

Besides talking therapies, other common techniques used to improve self-confidence include:

• Hypnotherapy: A mind–body intervention that uses hypnosis to establish a state of focus and increased suggestibility to tap into the subconscious reasons causing low self-esteem.
• Confidence coaching: Helps raise self-confidence by creating a positive viewpoint about life and oneself.

9-Counselling for Low Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is how an individual perceives and values themselves. Individuals with low self-esteem see both themselves and the world around them negatively. Moreover, they may struggle with unhappiness and find it hard to cope with day-to-day challenges.

Persistent feelings of low self-esteem negatively impact mental health and can lead to anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and self-harm. Counselling for low self-esteem helps individuals understand the root cause of their negative opinions about themselves and teaches them to challenge their unhealthy beliefs.

The different types of counselling for low self-esteem include:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) 

• Compassion-focused therapy (CFT): Helps let go of self-blame that usually accompanies negative thoughts
•  Art therapies: Uses mediums such as drawing, music, and drama to help individuals express themselves and process inherent feelings.

10-Counselling for Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterised by intrusive and obsessive thoughts usually accompanied by compulsive impulses. Since the thoughts and obsessions are overwhelming, the only way to relieve them is to repeat a particular action multiple times until the desire is fulfilled.

Counselling for CBT can help individuals break their obsessive cycles and modify their irrational thoughts and beliefs. The types of therapies used are:

• Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT): Teaches individuals to re-evaluate their thoughts and how they act on them.
• Exposure and response prevention (ERP): A type of CBT that helps control anxieties and behaviours to reduce the need to perform compulsive actions.

11-Counselling for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that certain individuals develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. PTSD usually involves the individual reliving the event via nightmares and flashbacks triggered by everyday scenarios, making routine life extremely difficult.

Counselling for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) includes:

• Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy (TF-CBT): An adapted form of therapy that helps individuals with PTSD cope with their anxieties and fears and modify their irrational thoughts and behaviours.
• Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR): Involves making rapid eye movements and thinking about the traumatic experience; the eye movements seem to create a comparable effect to how the brain processes experiences as we sleep. Hence, the idea is to reduce negative symptoms such as anxiety and flashbacks.

12-Relationship/Couples Counselling

Relationship counselling is a talking therapy developed to resolve problems within an intimate relationship. Talking to an objective person, especially an experienced counsellor, is a great way to gain perspective about the issues two individuals face.  

Relationship counselling aims to help individuals:

• Reconnect with one another
• Rediscover moments of passion
• Identify how external triggers (religion, culture, family values, lifestyle, etc.) may negatively affect the relationship.
• Reflect on past experiences and analyse how they influence the present
• Communicate more constructively
• Learn to de-escalate arguments
• Negotiate and resolve conflicts

13-Counselling for Self-development/Personal Development

Besides treating mental health problems, counselling can also prevent mental and emotional difficulties by cultivating and encouraging personal growth. A five-step model for developing personal growth includes:

• Survival: medication and cognitive-behavioural therapy are administered at this stage
• Recovery
• Progress
• Pleasure: involves functioning healthily and discovering opportunities that are satisfying and enjoyable.
• Awareness: involves achieving goals, living purposefully, and looking for future possibilities.

14-Counselling for Self-Harm

Self-harm generally starts as a result of overwhelming and upsetting thoughts. Physical harm can help release the negative emotions accompanying such thoughts; however, the relief is only temporary and is usually followed by guilt and shame. 

Counselling and psychotherapy may be extremely helpful for individuals involved in self-harm. Counselling provides a safe and non-judgmental space to talk about pent-up feelings and emotions and helps identify inherent causes of self-harm.

The two common types of talking therapies used to treat self-harm are:

• Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)

• Psychodynamic therapy