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What is Counselling?
Counselling involves a safe and confidential collaboration between qualified practitioners and clients to promote mental health and wellbeing, enhance self-understanding, and resolve identified concerns.

Counselling provides consumers who would not typically benefit from standard treatment options provided by their general practitioner or psychiatrist, access to cost-effective complementary psychological interventions, which are responsive to the consumer's mental health needs.
  • Prevents mental illness
  • Promotes health & wellbeing
  • Provides psychotherapeutic interventions
    for psychological difficulties such as depression, anxiety, trauma, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, ante and post-natal depression
  • Supports people with life's challenges such as relationship difficulties, family violence, chronic illness, disability, bereavement, bullying, discrimination, homelessness, sexual assault and natural disasters
 
Registered counsellors are trained allied health professionals working in a variety of settings, from low needs such as early intervention services through to moderate and high needs in primary, secondary and tertiary care.

Registered counsellors work with other Allied Health Professions to deliver psychological interventions in clinical settings, and within broader service stepped care environments, to provide consumers with a choice of high-quality, evidence-based person-centred psychological interventions that are responsive to the needs of consumers and the broader health system.
(Australia Counseling Association)


COUNSELLING USING EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPIES

There is lots of evidence indicating the use and appreciation of expressive arts practices from the very first records of humans and through the ages. Even as far back as 40,000 BC art making was part of community life, spirituality, healing and expression. People make images and objects to express themselves and make sense of their experiences.
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​Arts Therapies are a person centred approach to counselling giving opportunity to embody, distance and externalise experiences.

This therapeutic space is a safe and gentle environment where assessing  inner most thoughts which are often hidden, can unlock insights and allow for increased self-awareness and acceptance.  Exploring through expressive arts is an opportunity to make room for  new perspectives and greater creative problem solving, allowing for the identification of new approaches and different outcomes.  Experiencing these processes can often be life changing.
 
 When reflecting during this process some questions explored may include:
  • What draws your attention the most?
  • What comes to mind when you focus on this?
  • When reflecting what do you become aware of ?

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​At the conclusion of a recent session the client reflected: ‘I went on to making an image of my experience which gave me a way of distancing myself from the problem. I could see what it looked like and how I felt about what it looked like.’ 
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​© Sandra Buchanan — 2022