Individual Counselling Toronto
Caring and confidential, one on one counselling support for all your mental health concerns.
Are you feeling anxious, depressed, overwhelmed or even just struggling to understand how you feel? If so, you are far from alone and one on one counselling could help you to get the personal insight you need. Whether you are suffering from general mental health concerns or you are working through specific trauma, Counselling Simply is here for you.
Also known as psychotherapy or talk therapy, individual therapy is one-on-one counselling with a trained Counselling Simply psychotherapist. The focus of this type of therapy is on exploring your individual behaviours, emotions, and the events that led you to seek individual therapy.
This is in contrast to couples therapy and family counselling where sessions are conducted jointly with a partner or other family member. Note, Counselling Simply also offers these forms of therapy. If you are in individual therapy because of relationship or family issues it can be beneficial to incorporate joint therapy sessions as well.
During your first session, you can expect to answer questions similar to what you might answer at a family doctor’s appointment. This includes questions about your medical history including any diagnoses you may have and prescriptions you may be on. You will also discuss your reasons for seeking individual therapy and what you want to achieve from your sessions. Sessions are conducted in a safe and confidential space and last around an hour.
In follow-up sessions, your therapist will help you delve deeper into the feelings, thoughts, and beliefs that are affecting your mental health. Part of this process may include taking time to practice certain behaviours and skills you have learned in therapy such as breathing techniques to calm anxiety or consciously taking note of the causes of certain feelings.
Therapy may have a prescription component but your therapist cannot prescribe or recommend a drug directly. Instead, you will be referred for secondary evaluation. Therapy often serves as a starting point for treatment that will lead you to other medical professionals as needed.
This can include both prescriptions for psychiatric drugs like antidepressants but may also involve other medical examinations. Some conditions can manifest as mental health concerns but may actually be caused by an underlying physical issue.
For example, chronic pain, heart disease, diabetes, and irritable bowel syndrome can all cause symptoms that are similar to anxiety. If your symptoms of anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues are sudden and without provocation, you will likely be referred to a medical evaluation to rule out these potential causes.
Treatment for mental health concerns is driven by you, the patient. A timeline is determined by your individual goals. For some clients, this can mean a few weeks or months as they take time to process a specific event such as a divorce or the loss of a loved one.
Treatment can also take longer than this especially if there is not only one main area where help is needed. For example, if you are suffering symptoms of a mental health condition without a specific cause, it may take time to determine a diagnosis and structure a treatment plan based on this. Ultimately, the focus is not on how long therapy takes but on the progress you make.
The decision to seek mental health counselling is not always an easy one though it should be. Many people feel that they should be able to “tough it out” and manage their emotions on their own. You may even feel as if your problems are not significant enough for therapy or that therapy will not be able to help anyway.
However, all of these assumptions about therapy are the unfortunate side effect of a lack of knowledge and understanding about mental health. Even those without specific trauma or mental health conditions can still benefit from speaking with a professional.
There is a wide range of reasons people seek out therapy including but not limited to:
Seeking therapy is often the first step to understanding yourself better, healing past traumas, and becoming a healthier version of yourself. Whether you feel completely overwhelmed or are just unsure of the path you are on, Counselling Simply is here to support you in your journey to mental health. Contact us today for appointment availability.
Seeking therapy is often the first step to understanding yourself better, healing past traumas, and becoming a healthier version of yourself. Whether you feel completely overwhelmed or are just unsure of the path you are on, Counselling Simply is here to support you in your journey to mental health. Contact us today for appointment availability.
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