Counselling Therapy

Kathleen Johnston, MA is a Registered Clinical Counselor with the BC Association of Clinical Counselors. She offers counselling therapy to help individuals be more productive and satisfied in their careers, resolve problems interfering with their emotional health, and to build healthier relationships.  While many people manage to overcome problems on their own, when that process breaks down a professional counsellor can help. 

If you are wondering about the difference between counselling therapy and coaching, they are discrete professions with separate skill sets. In simple terms, coaching begins in the present and is focused on moving the client forward to his or her desired goals. It is about designing the future not getting over the past.

In contrast, counselling therapy focuses on resolving issues or problems that may be a result of the person's past experiences and learned behavior. Historical information may be used to better understand and resolve current issues. A general rule is that while a therapist may sometimes use coaching techniques, a coach never plays the role of a therapist.
 

What does counselling address? 

In counselling, we can talk about any topic that is troubling you. For example, you might be feeling stressed, anxious or depressed about something. Or maybe you're approaching burnout. We can address the symptoms you are feeling (anxiety, anger, frustration) well as the underlying issues that may have caused those symptoms (such as relationships, self-image, or distressing work-life situations). 

Kathleen's counselling clients are most often individuals who are experiencing severe stress overload as a result of career-life issues that have become overwhelming or debilitating. Counselling is a problem-solving process. It helps people identify what they have tried to do to solve problems and operates from the premise that there are always innovative options to be explored.
 

What's my counselling approach?

My worldview, as both a clinical counsellor and a trained coach, is that each of us has been blessed with free will, the capacity to reason, and the ability to make choices about how we live our lives. This is the basis from which I view the circumstances of clients' lives. 

As a counselling therapist I believe that it is neither helpful nor empowering to support feelings of victimization or helplessness in people. Obviously there are some events, trials and tribulations that are more difficult than others.  But so often it is our attitude about these things that determines whether we heal, cope and move on, or give up in despair.

The theoretical models which help to inform my counselling work include feminist and family systems theory, cognitive behavioral theory, and solution-focused counselling.  My operating premise is a strength-based approach, supporting and empowering the individual to create change.  

To determine whether counselling therapy may be helpful to you, try asking yourself these questions:

• Do you want to get an objective point of view to help sort out problems, difficulties, decisions?
• Have you tried to help yourself but the problem is still there?
• Have you experienced unwanted life changes and found that your usual coping skills are not working?
• Do you believe it's time to work through (rather than around) past hurts, relationships, or negative life situations?
• Are you concerned about issues that are too intimate to discuss with friends and family?

It is important to remember that sometimes a personal, one-on-one, non-judgmental approach is needed and a caring professional counsellor can help you find the solutions that will work best for you.
 

Do you think counselling might help you?   

If so, please contact me, in confidence, for a complimentary consultation. Together we will review how counseling works and I will answer any questions you have. You can get a sense of who I am and my style, and see if we are a "good fit". Then you can decide if you'd like to move forward.