Psychological counseling

Counseling Psychology is a generalist health service (HSP) specialty in professional psychology that uses a broad range of culturally-informed and culturally-sensitive practices to help people improve their well-being, prevent and alleviate distress and maladjustment, resolve crises, and increase their ability to function better in their lives. It focuses specifically but not exclusively on normative life-span development, with a particular emphasis on prevention and education as well as amelioration, addressing individuals as well as the systems or contexts in which they function.

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Problems Addressed: normative developmental and mental health issues and challenges faced by individuals across their lifespan, as well as systemic challenges (such as prejudice and discrimination) experienced in groups, workplaces, organizations, institutions, and communities. Strengths-based perspectives and practices are used to prevent and ameliorate emotional, relational, physical/health-related, social, cultural, vocational, educational, and identity-related problems.

 

A series of meetings will be needed to explore every aspect of the difficulty or difficulties presented by the person.

Once the problem has been identified, we start brainstorming the most suitable resources and potential solutions for achieving the desired goal.

 

The objectives of psychological counseling are:

 

• Understanding one's own situation and/or needs: it is often not clear how some periods of our life can negatively affect our daily life. The psychologist helps the client understand and look at his/her situation or problem from new points of view, guiding him/her towards the right path to take.

 

• Decide whom to ask for help: the psychologist directs the client to the most appropriate professional according to the client's needs, the situation or the problem. The person will be fully aware of possible solutions and possible paths to take.

 

• Overcoming discomfort and uneasiness: problems related to stress, conflict management, relational problems and difficulties in pursuing goals are very common.

 

• Helping to recover self-efficacy and competence: by regaining these skills, the person finds himself again able to face difficulties with the strength of his own resources. 

 

• Overcome decision-making difficulties: often the problem presented is experienced as a block in one's ability to act or an impediment to think effectively.

 

• Transform periods of crisis into opportunities: every difficulty creates an opportunity. Even if a problem seems insurmountable, it always brings with it something to learn, useful ideas for setting goals and for personal growth.

 

• To prevent something bigger or worse to happen: psychological counseling allows us to better understand ourselves and to avoid that a situation or problem worsen.