Absolutely everyone can benefit from talking to a therapist, but exactly which type of therapy is best for you will be a very personal matter. For many people, it is individual counseling that will offer them the support that they need to overcome their issues or at the very least, learn better-coping strategies and see a general improvement in their day to day lives.

Individual counseling is when you meet one on one with a trained and experienced counselor.  Session lengths are usually around an hour but can vary, and the frequency of your visits can also vary depending on your individual needs. In many cases, clients initially start out with weekly counseling sessions and are able to slightly reduce these as their treatment progresses.  

There are a variety of benefits to choosing individual counseling.

Confidentiality

 All therapy sessions are considered confidential, even group therapy where there is a rule that 'what is said at the session remains at the session'.   In individual counseling sessions, the confidentiality of client concerns is most easily maintained. 

Complete attention

When you choose one to one counseling, you will receive the undivided attention of your therapist for the duration of your appointment, ensuring that you have adequate time to talk about the things that you need to without ‘sharing your time’ with others, or worrying that the session becomes side-tracked talking about things that aren’t relevant to you and your situation.

Fresh insights

One of the key benefits of any sort of counseling, and in particular, individual counseling, is that it gives you the chance to develop fresh insights about your life and identify patterns that may be causing you issues.  This is because your counselor will remain emotionally detached and objective and will be able to offer a neutral perspective that they can then share directly with you.

Tailored sessions

Since the counseling sessions aren’t shared with anyone else, your therapist can be very thorough in understanding your specific issues. This will enable them to create individualized sessions that are tailored to analyzing and treating these and these alone. This level of focus can sometimes yield results more quickly than those that can be achieved via other therapy methods. Similarly, the pace of your treatment can be tailored to your individual needs and sped up or slowed down depending on how you respond to various elements of the process.

Strong therapeutic alliance

Studies have shown that the therapeutic alliance, which is the term used to describe the relationship between client and therapist, is strongest in individual therapy since you are the sole focus of the sessions.

Communication skills

In individual counseling, you will have to communicate with your counselor and as your sessions progress, talking, listening, and analyzing will help you to develop and improve your communication skills.  This can be extremely beneficial in many areas of your life.  

Convenient sessions

When you only have yourself to accommodate, you are able to schedule your therapy sessions at a time that is convenient to ensure that you can attend them regularly.

If you would like more information. about the benefits of individual counseling, or to schedule a confidential consultation, please call my practice.