Listening.

That is one of the things I do for a living. I am a counsellor. I have spent many hundreds of hours listening to individuals, to groups. I have also spent hours being listened to. For me, listening that attentively to someone is like offering them hospitality. I hope that they can begin to feel accepted, welcomed, and even begin to relax and let go of some tension. If I can do this successfully then the person to whom I am listening can begin to think about what is troubling them without wasting energy on trying to make a good impression, or trying to hold it all together.

So why did I call this blog Talk about talking? Shouldn’t it be Talk about listening?

What I really want to think about here is the process of talking from a client’s perspective, whether I am the counsellor or indeed the client. However I am not going to divulge any secrets. I am not going to publish my journals. I am not going to break any confidences.

I think the process of counselling is sometimes poorly understood and I would love to know what you think. What do you think counselling is about? Would you ever go to talk to a counsellor? Do you know any counsellors? (Well you probably know me or you would be unlikely to be reading this). What do you think counsellors do?