What help do I need?
When you're stuck and needing support, or hurt and needing healing, it's not always easy to know where to turn and what would be useful. There are all kinds of services out there. Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error to find the thing you need. It's worth persisting. Hopefully the information here will help you to start to find your way in what can feel like a bit of maze.
Counselling
Counselling is the name given to a range of talking therapies that help us to cope with and recover from emotional distress. Such as anxiety, depression, burn out, stress, difficult life events, trauma and grief. It's useful for things that are happening now, or very recently. It can also help with things from the past that are causing difficulties in the present.
What kind of counselling do I need and how do I find a counsellor?
Coaching
Coaching is focused support for personal and professional development. It helps you to identify what you want to achieve, how you are going to achieve it and what you're going to do about the things that are getting in the way. The philosophy of coaching is that you have all the resources within you to find your own solutions and way forward. You will already have lots of people in your life willing to give advice and tell you what to do. A coach helps you to access your own wisdom and, when you've made a plan can provide ongoing support to help you to stay on track. Coaches usually work with individuals but can also work with teams. People get coaching for all sorts of reasons, including project planning, business development, improving confidence, leadership development, career direction, improving work / life balance, managing change, decision making, parenting and discovering life purpose to name but a few.
Spiritual Direction
Spiritual direction is focused, one to one support to develop and deepen your spiritual life. It is safe space to explore your prayer life, your connection with the divine. It can help you work out what enables you, personally, to draw close to God. A good spiritual director will not tell you what to do or what to believe but will help you to discern what the divine is doing within you. Spiritual direction can be particularly helpful in times of struggle, darkness and doubt or when you find your faith is shifting and changing. Perhaps you want space outside your faith community to explore what is happening within you without worrying what people will think. Or maybe you just want to go deeper and would like encouragement and companionship on the journey.