What is counselling?
Counselling offers a safe, confidential space to talk about whatever is troubling you, supported by a counsellor who can help you to understand and figure things out, and to find ways of coping with things in ways that work for you.
Whatever you are going through, counselling sessions may give you a supportive space to offload and process your feelings. It is good to talk, and research shows that counselling can help support you to overcome difficult times, whether as a result of stress, relationship issues, low mood, depression, anxiety, or other mental health worries.
Our mental health can have a massive impact on our sleep, and poor sleep can have a big impact on our mental health – so, at the Sleep Support Project we aim to support the emotional impact of any sleep issues through counselling support. Counselling can help, whether you are suffering with poor sleep as a result of stress, or if you are experiencing stress as a result of living with ongoing sleep issues.
When living with a long-term sleep disorder, this can have a big impact on many areas of life, on relationships, on working lives, on self-esteem, and on quality of life. It can feel isolating, lonely, and an uphill struggle when battling with disrupted sleep and sleep deprivation. We believe that emotional support should be available that’s dedicated to understanding and supporting those living with sleep disorders.
All our counsellors are qualified, Registered Members of the BACP (British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy) and therefore follow the BACP code of ethical practice at all times.
A counsellor is not there to advise or tell you what to do, and will listen to your story, empathise with your experience and try to understand things from your point of view. The counsellor may sometimes encourage you to look at things in a different way but will never judge, dictate or presume they are the expert in your experience.
Counselling sessions are generally weekly 50 minute sessions, ranging from short-term therapy of 6-8 sessions, to longer term counselling if required. To make sure counselling is the most appropriate support for you, the counsellor will have an initial assessment with you, where any questions and goals can be discussed together. Sometimes, the counsellor may signpost you to more appropriate support services but be assured that we endeavour to support you in the best way we can.
At the sleep support project we offer an integrative approach of person-centred counselling, solution-focused therapy and CBT for insomnia (CBT-i), depending on the support required. These sessions can take place in person or over the phone.
Please contact us for further information or to request support.
Confidentiality is vital throughout the counselling process, and the counsellor will never share any of your information with a third party, unless there are any concerns relating to risk of harm to self or others, or any safeguarding concerns.