There may be a time when you realize you need some help and are wondering what to expect from counselling Victoria BC. The prospect of sharing details about your life can feel overwhelming, here are 7 things to set your mind at ease when starting therapy.

1. Safety- It may be slightly frightening going to therapy you may feel you may be judged, what you will find is an atmosphere of safety, acceptance and warmth to help you heal.
2. Commonality- You want a therapist who can identify with your hopes, dreams and wishes as well as the anger, frustration, worries, fears or sadness you may be feeling. To feel you have both may have shared some of these experiences, to feel your therapist doesn’t have it all together.
3. Curiosity and Empathy – Your therapist is not a mind reader, you want them to show a non-judgemental curiosity about your inner world. That they know enough about human nature to guide you as you look inwards.
4. Validation and Acceptance – Once you’ve gathered the courage to show those painful and wounded parts of yourself the therapist should validate these feelings because of your particular circumstance. Your therapist may tell you they understand how you could feel the way you do given your family of origin, your inborn temperament, your history and the trauma you’ve experienced. They will tell you while it isn’t an excuse to self harm or other harmful behaviours but is understandable.
5. Honesty – Therapy needs you to be very honest in order for the therapy to benefit you, in return you should expect an honest evaluation given with equal measures of kindness and compassion.
6. Experience and Expertise – Not every counsellor is competent or comfortable with every issue or problem so it’s essential to give a clear picture of what yours are and choose a therapist with the expertise you require.
7. Hope – Finally you want to feel encouraged by your therapy that there is hope and a light at the end of all this.

These are all elements you can expect from therapy whether it’s for an individual issue or marriage therapy. With some combination of the elements described above you can expect to have a positive and beneficial experience in therapy.