Counseling

Depression counseling, Anxiety counseling, Anger management counseling, Grief counseling, Stress counseling, Self-esteem counseling, Couples counseling, Trauma and Crisis Management, Conflict resolution counseling.

Most people visit a counselor at least once in their lives, for different reasons. The following are four common reasons people use counseling services.

1. Difficult Life Events
Some people seek counseling because they have experienced a stressful or traumatic life event, and speaking with a counselor helps them process the situation:

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•    Death of a loved one
•    Job loss
•    Divorce
•    Accident
•    Abuse
•    Addiction
•    Diagnosis of a serious physical or terminal illness for self or loved one.

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2. Mental Health Issues or Challenges

Counseling is an excellent way for people with mental health problems to work through their symptoms in a supportive, non-judgemental environment. 

3. Life Transitions or Decisions

People who are in periods of transition in their lives can benefit from counseling:

•    Starting a new career
•    Marriage
•    Becoming a parent
•    Relocation
•    Retirement

 Counselors can be very helpful in providing a balanced or objective perspective.

4. Self-Discovery

Some people seek counseling for self-discovery and self-improvement because it can provide a good opportunity for a person to reflect on past experiences and further explore their feelings and values in a healthy, empowering manner. 

 However, not all clients benefit from counseling or therapy.  Clients who have made the most progress, have some distinguishing characteristics in terms of their behaviors and attitudes: 

A. They are specific about what goals they want to achieve in counseling. Counselling works better if clients have clearly defined goals. 

B. They are ready to do some work in sessions and between sessions too (homework). In highly religious environments like Nigeria, my experience is that people relinquish responsibility to 'prayer'. The truth is that along with prayer one must also be ready to do the mind work too. Making progress in counseling is similar to making progress in other areas of life such as a job, a sport or other endeavor—being able to consistently work at learning and applying skills will lead to progress. 

C. They focus on the process goals
Process goals are those actions that are within your control, which by doing them, are most likely to lead to top performance.  Clients who don’t focus on ‘doing the work’ and instead become preoccupied with discussions of their progress, do not make as much progress. 

D. Focus on yourself and not on others 
Clients who focus on what they can do to address their issues make better progress than clients who focus on what others are doing or what others should be doing to make the situation better for them. 

E. Be willing to try new ideas and skills
 
F. Don't go to the session just to vent and ruminate. Focus on specific actions and solving problems. Some people just want to keep going over the problem.
 
G. Have realistic and positive expectations for your counseling sessions

Our beliefs and expectations are powerful and they determine our outcomes too.
 When we have unrealistic or negative expectations about the sessions, it makes it less likely that we will get the benefits of the sessions. 

H.  Be specific about your issues
This involves working with your counselor or therapist to identify the individual elements contributing to your distress and then taking the necessary action to address these elements. 

I.  Progress may not always happen the way we expect 

Sometimes you may still struggle, that is not enough to discount all the progress you have made so far. It is still progress
 

J. Engage your support network
Having a support network is more helpful than 'going solo'. Clients who involve supportive others in their counseling are more likely to make progress. This can include having them present in some of your sessions or/and having them hold you accountable to achieve the goals you set. 

Potential Benefits of Counseling
The counseling process is, in many ways, like an educational experience. Here are some examples of the benefits that you can get from counseling:

• You get relief from depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions

• You increase your confidence and decision-making skills

• You develop the ability to manage stress effectively

• You improve problem-solving and conflict resolution abilities

• You improve communication and interpersonal skills

• You improve your self-acceptance and self-esteem

• You develop the ability to change self-defeating behaviors/habits

• You start practicing  emotional hygiene; better expression and management of emotions, including anger 

• You are able to manage and even resolve past trauma

• These gains are transferable and go beyond the specific issue that brought the individual into counseling. In most cases, the new skills apply to other areas of the clients life and help to provide a better quality of life and higher productivity.

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If any of these fit . . .then, you should be talking to us. . .

Our Enterprise Counseling Solutions: 

1. Specific Incident Counseling (SIC) Bereavement, Armed Robbery, Kidnapping, Downsizing, COVID-19, etc. This includes a presentation and a discussion forum for venting before the presentation or after.

2. Counseling clinics (whole day or week). Includes a back-to-office report

3. Organization Membership Plan: A combination (bundle) of services including counseling, for a specific number of staff

4. Retainership: Monthly retainers that allow staff access to online counseling