WHAT IS COUNSELLING AND HOW CAN IT HELP ME?

Counselling is a talking treatment that aims to help you talk safely and freely with a view to helping you find inner strengths and resources to manage your difficulties more effectively and work towards living in a happier, peaceful way of life. Difficulties may include painful feelings such as anger, grief, loneliness, sadness, fear, low self esteem, anxiety, depression. The counselling I offer can either be over the telephone, face-to-face or online via e-mail. It can be a one-off session, it can be short-term counselling for a few weeks, or it can be long-term lasting many months or years.

Counsellors are not there to give advice and tell you what you should do, the counsellors aim is to help you to explore your problems and facilitate ways that you work through them with a more positive result. For some only a few sessions are needed, other people require much longer, perhaps many months. The sessions usually last for 50 minutes once a week.
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MYTHS ABOUT COUNSELLING

There is a myth that attending counselling is a sign of weakness, or that you are mentally unwell. This is incorrect! Not everyone who comes for counselling has mental health difficulties. Whilst of course many people who come for counselling are in some form of emotional distress, there are many, who simply feel unable to talk to anyone who understands or that they can confide in. For some it is simply just having that "safe space to talk", in an environment where they feel able to "off load" with someone not connected to them in their other areas of life e.g., work, family.

Indeed exploring your feelings and emotions with a view to leading a more positive way of life is a sign of courage rather than weakness. Because if problems or difficulties that are not dealt with they can mount up and in time cause significant anxiety and emotional distress.
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WHAT HAPPENS IN A COUNSELLING SESSION?

Taking the first step to contact the counsellor can be quite daunting for some. Please be reassured that this is perfectly normal. Once you have taken the first step in contacting and meeting with me you will probably feel a lot more relieved and more focused to start managing your difficulties.

The counselling sessions depend on which service you require. They can take place over the telephone , face to face in my practice, or via e mail correspondence.

FACE TO FACE - will last for upto 2 hours as this gives you time to tell me about your current difficulties and what it is that you want support with. The following sessions will last for either 50 minutes or 1 hour and usually take place each week or what we both agree is suitable

TELEPHONE / E MAIL - I will e mail you a questionnaire that asks lots of questions about your current problems and also about your life history. This is a very important piece of information for me as it enables me to look closely in depth and about your life and your personality type to assess the most suitable counseling approach you.

GROUP SESSIONS / STAFF SUPPORT GROUPS -Ideal if your budget is low as this can be a cheaper option for your group. I charge £135 per hour which includes my travel time and petrol. For example a group of 10 people this would cost just over £13 each. These are available to the Lugano area in Switzerland where I live .

Group sizes should be no larger than 10 people and usually last for 10 sessions or can be a regular meeting . It is up to the group to decide what type of support they need and e mail me with their requirements. Each group can be specifically tailored to meet your needs. For example it may be a support group for an issue that has affected work colleagues and they need someone to come in an help resolve any under lying emotional conflict.

Or perhaps a parenting skills group, or maybe support for Ex Pat mums living in Lugano who may be having difficulty adjusting to a new area or just need the space to have a moan about general life or indeed a more specific focus such as development of self esteem , confidence, depression, bereavement, or relationship difficulties. The list is endless and you would need to contact me to discuss your requirements and my fees.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU ARE NOT UNDER ANY OBLIGATION TO COMMIT TO ANY FURTHER SESSIONS IT IS ALWAYS YOUR CHOICE WHETHER YOU WISH TO CONTINUE SESSIONS.
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WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN CHOOSING A COUNSELLOR

It is important that you are able to feel comfortable with your counsellor and that they demonstrate a non judgemental and empathic attitude towards you.

At the present time anyone can set themselves up as a counsellor as there is no current legislation that governs the safe and appropriate practice of counsellors. In my opinion this is very concerning and I would advise that you check to see what their counselling qualifications are and whether they awarded by a recognized professional training institution ( for example maybe it was a 6 week course from the newspaper !!) Equally important is the relevance of their counselling approach to your difficulty. I am specialized in many different counseling approaches and tailor my service to meet your specific needs.

Also find out if they belong to a recognized professional body of counselling and adhere to their codes of practice? Most professional bodies have stringent checks and regulations on each therapist. For example I belong to the B.A.C. (British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists) and as a professional and conscientious practitioner I adhere to their code of ethics and practice.

I would also advise that your counsellor provides evidence of their qualifications and demonstrates that they have satisfactory police checks by the Criminal Records Bureau especially when working with children.
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WHO COMES FOR COUNSELLING?

All sorts of people - from children, teenagers, couples, families. People of any age and any background.
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MY COUNSELLING APPROACH

I offer a wide range of therapeutic counselling approaches which are specifically tailored to suit your individual needs.
My formal qualifications are in Person Centred Psycho-Dynamic Counselling and Psychiatry. I am also however very experienced in working with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Transactional Analysis.

Person Centred Psycho Dynamic Counselling is based on the theory of how the past effects the here and now. It explores your journey of life from infant to adult and how this affects your day to day life as it is now with particular focus on your behaviours and thoughts and your relationships with others. The relationship needs to be one where the counsellor is non judgemental, shows empathy, acceptance and understanding.
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COUNSELLING SUPERVISION

Together with my formal Counselling and Psychiatric qualifications and wide experience in working for the NHS in adult and child mental health, I am able to offer supervision for fellow Counsellors either via e-mail, face to face or via the telephone.
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MY FEES

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ADD MY E-MAIL ADDRESS carolinegarrod@hotmail.com TO YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS SO YOUR E-MAIL DOES NOT REJECT IT

For face to face - payment is required at the start of each session

FOR TELEPHONE AND EMAIL COUNSELLING - I require advance payment for each session either through Pay Pal or Nochex which is a widely used secure server (many people choose to use this payment method on ebay as the person receiving the money never sees your card details pay pal only pass the money on) Or by bank transfer to my UK bank .Pay pal and Nochex is quicker as the money reaches me in minutes and therefore I can send you the questionnaire in 24 hours. Whereas bank transfer can take 4 – 10 days depending on where in the world you live.

FACE TO FACE COUNSELLING The first session is a comprehensive assessment session = £65 (up to 2 hours)	Payment on arrival
Follow up Face to face sessions Individual adults / Children = £35 for 1 hour	Payment on arrival
Family / Couple counselling = £40 for 1 hour	Payment on arrival
Counsellor Supervision = £35 for 1 hour	Payment on arrival
TELEPHONE/INTERNET COUNSELLING 1st Session - (Asessment session) – You will be sent an online questionnaire to complete and return to me via e-mail then we arrange one e-mail or telephone reply = £75
SUBSEQUENT TELEPHONE SESSIONS £38 per hour
SUBSEQUENT E-MAIL REPLIES £28 per e-mail response
COUNSELLOR SUPERVISION First Contact - I will send you a questionnaire to fill out and return to me via e-mail, you then decide whether to receive an e-mail or phone reply.
£38 per e mail reply
£45 phone consultation 1 hour
SUBSEQUENT SUPERVISION SESSIONS
£25 per e-mail reply
£40 phone consultation - 1 hour
STAFF SUPPORT/GROUPS £135 per hour (maximum 10 people) Please contact me prior to paying please note that it is your responsibility to phone me.	Please contact me

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