Frequently asked questions

1. Who is this course (and co-counselling) for? (or NOT for?)

• Co-counselling can be of use to anyone who is already functioning reasonably well in some areas of their life (i.e social relationships, partner relationshps, work and career, home/acommodation), but who wants their life to be more colourful, productive or fulfilling, and who possibly has some areas where things are not going as well as they'd like.
• It's for people who want to reflect on the questions: 'who am I - what makes me tick - how come I am the way I am - do I need to do things differently?'. It's for people who want to explore these questions and who don't mind the idea that they may discover areas that are uncomfortable or unpleasant and need addressing.
• It is for people who are willing to share personal experiences and listen to other people at length.

Co-counselling is

• probably not for someone who is living in chaos in all areas of their life
• not for someone who risks having a psychotic breakdown (getting out of touch with reality) when they contact uncomfortable feelings

2. I wonder if I will get nervous in the group: should I still do the course?

I think it is very common for people to feel nervous or uncomfortable when in they are in a group that is dealing with personal issues (as compared to, say, a more technical or practical group like a committee meeting). It's to be expected and in a way is a good and normal thing, because it means that your emotions/feelings are becoming available to you and can be worked on by you during the course. One thing I want to stress is that whilst on the course you will never be pushed by me to do anything or work on anything you don't want to do: one of the main principles of co-counselling is that the client is in charge of the content, pace and depth of their work.

3. Is co-counselling just a version of "you tell me your problems and I'll tell you mine".

It might look like that at first glance, because some of the same things happen in a co-counselling session as in an ordinary conversation, i.e. two people sit down and talk about themselves, and share the time. The difference is that both people are trained in a specific method of working on issues, a method that includes not only words but also voice, sound, body and action. One person will be listening in a way that is taught on the course: the listener is also trained in making responses might be helpful in order to invite the 'talker' to go further in his or her work.