Counselling Information
What is Counselling?
Counselling is a therapeutic process conducted between the client and the trained professional (Your Counsellor.)
Counsellors use specialist interpersonal skills to learn about clients' personal issues and challenges, in order to facilitate empowerment, improvement, and ultimately management or resolution of issues or challenges.
Counselling is best described as a dialogue between consenting adults to enrich and improve the client's life.
Effective, personalised counselling will assist the client to move towards desired life goals and to live the best, most valued life possible.
At Lifeforce Counselling we offer the following Counselling Services to our clients:
General Counselling (Anxiety, Depression, Self Esteem)
Specialist Grief, Loss & Bereavement Counselling
Specialist Men's Counselling
Specialist Women's Counselling
Teen & Adolescent Counselling
Identity & Sexuality Clarification and Counselling
Pet Loss Grief Counselling
We use the counselling solution that will work best for you and your individual circumstances. Our Counsellors bring experience, compassion and empathy to your session, often infused with lived experience of the many trials and tribulations that are common to all.
If you are unsure if counselling may be of use to you, please call us for a chat.
Alternatively, you can simply book online by clicking the Book Now Button Below.
How do I know if I need Counselling?
Most people have a sense or feeling that something is not quite right when they seek out assistance.
For some people, it can be as simple as feeling blue or stressed.
For others, it's a little more complex, you may feel uneasy or uncharacteristically on edge.
You may even find yourself snapping at others, or becoming dissatisfied with your 'lot in life'.
There are many reasons people seek out Counselling.
Sometimes it really can be as simple as needing someone to talk to who is NOT a family member, who can view the situation with relative objectivity and a lack of bias.
If you feel like life is starting to get on top of you, or that you cannot cope in your present situation, then you may benefit from talking to a qualified, accredited Counsellor.
We can help you make sense of your situation.
How long does it take?
Counselling rarely follows a dedicated timeline. Every client is an individual, with individual needs, responses and requirements.
Some clients feel much more confident and relaxed after a single session with a Counsellor, while others need time to develop trust and rapport with their therapist.
Treatment plans are discussed with clients during the initial visit, as per the Code of Conduct for all professional counsellors registered with the ACA. (Australian Counselling Association.)
Does my family have to know?
No. Your privacy is very important and all matters discussed with your Counsellor will remain completely confidential. *Except in the case of agreed or implied consent.
Will I be Judged?
No, you will not be judged. Counselling is not about judgement. It is a dialogue between consenting adults, where a trained professional assists the client in understanding, accepting and changing unwanted behaviours, in order to reach desired life goals.
What happens in a Session?
Sessions will vary from visit to visit depending on your needs at the time. Sometimes you may be feeling like you want your therapist to act as a sounding board. At other times, you may be looking for direction or clarity. We don't set rules or enforce an agenda in our therapy sessions. It's all about what you need on the day!
What are the fees?
The fee for a counselling session is between $150 - $170 depending on your therapist. Initial sessions run for 60-90 minutes with follow up sessions running for 60 minutes.
Do you take Mental Health Care Plans?
Unfortunately, as Registered Counsellors, we are unable to take mental health care plans. Our industry body, the ACA, is lobbying hard for Counsellors to be included in the MBS. Until that occurs only Registered Clinical Psychologists can offer subsidised rates or partial refunds for Mental Health Care plans.
Often the out of pocket expenses from Mental Health Care Plans are quite similar to our counselling fees.
Can I get a Counselling rebate?
Yes. There are a small number of private health funds offering rebates on Counselling Services. If you have extras cover or have nominated Counselling, Hypnotherapy or Coaching on your ancillary benefits.
The amount and number of rebates you receive will depend on your cover.
Please refer to the information below.
Do I have to like my therapist?
Yes, it really helps the counselling process to share a level of rapport with your counsellor.
Research shows that the level of rapport you share with your counsellor will impact your outcome. It is important to also remember that a competent counsellor will at times challenge you to perhaps think or act in a different way.
Please take a read about some of the therapies we use here at Lifeforce Counselling below.
You don't have to be stuck in the past or feel angry and resentful.
Gestalt Therapy (Empty Chair Work)
Gestalt Therapy is an approach to mental wellness that helps people resolve past conflicts and become more present.
When you move from beyond the past, you can find peace in the present and enrich your interactions in the world around you.
Gestalt Therapy centres around the present. You can learn to tune into your inner self, release the past, and engage with the present. Instead of worrying about the past or the future.
According to Gestalt Therapy, emotions can only be resolved if they are discussed in the present.
The release of emotions, both internally and externally, is the primary way that clients heal with this type of therapy.
Instead of focusing on achievement and meeting expectations, clients learn to understand themselves and their desires.
This can build confidence and alleviate stress, which ultimately leads to good mental health.
Gestalt Therapy is sometimes referred to as 'empty chair therapy' or 'exaggeration technique' therapy.
Gestalt therapy is a humanistic, holistic, person-centred form of psychotherapy that is focused on an individual's present life and challenges rather than delving into past experiences.
Recognise your abilites, celebrate the uniqueness that is you. Draw on your strengths.
Person Centred Therapy
Person Centered Therapy is commonly known as talk therapy.
It focuses on the client and counsellor exploring a space where a sense of self becomes evident in the client.
You will be encouraged to explore how your attitudes, beliefs, thoughts and actions can impact on your persona in a negative way, hence forming maladaptive or undesired behaviours.
Person Centred Therapy allows you to talk openly and honestly about issues or problems which you may be experiencing, through open and transparent dialogue with your counsellor.
The Person Centred approach to counselling is based on the premise that all humans have an innate tendency to develop to their full potential; however, this is sometimes not possible due to our life experiences and in particular, those where others tell us we are only loved or valued if we behave in certain ways or have certain feelings.
Person Centered Counselling may:
Provide you with an environment in which you are not threatened or judged.
Help you to recognise and or reconnect with your own value and self-worth.
Understand it is okay to have needs and wants.
Allow you to reframe some of your thoughts differently and positively.
Celebrate your successes and use the skills and strengths you already possess.
Person Centered Therapy is a humanstic counselling approach.
This means we will attempt to find out how you as an individual perceive yourself and help you to recognise your latent potential and life goal responsibilities.
We help you make sense of your thoughts, feelings and emotions
Solution Focused Therapy
Solution Focused Therapy is goal focused collaborative therapy.
It is based on direct observation of a clients response to very precisely constructed questions.
When undertaking Solution Focused therapy the focus will be on the present and future, only drawing from the past to elaborate on previous successes.
Solution Focused therapy will assist you in visualising your ideal or preferred forward life path and offer tools and resources to assist with the fruition of new goals.
Questions and feedback are the primary tools for Solution Focused Therapy.
Solution Focused Therapy capitalises on your own skill set, raising self-awareness to elicit forward planning during the session.
Solution Focused Therapy is a Postmodern Counselling approach.
Postmodern counselling means that we will attempt to minimise authority while forming a professional, communal relationship with you.
Medibank Private
AHM
Doctors Health Fund
Avant Mutual
Grand United
Saint Lukes Medical
Phoenix Health
Police Health
Emergency Services Health
Teachers Union Health Fund
Please check your eligibility with your fund.
See us in person at our lovely Lakeside Offices
Meet with us Online from the comfort of home or work
Lifeforce Counselling
Providing Counselling and Hypnotherapy Services since 2013
Accredited Mental Health Providers
