Counsellors International

There is great flexibility in terms of the types of counselling sessions.

For instance, a counselling session may be for an individual, a couple, or a family.

Any of these sessions may take place online (by video, audio, or text) or in person, depending on the preferences and needs of the person(s) seeking counselling.

Talk Your Heart Out (TYHO) offers a range of services, including individual, couples, marriage, and family therapy.

We also deliver workshops and facilitate discussions on mental health and wellbeing, as well as personal and professional development.

There is no straightforward answer to this question, as the effectiveness of counselling differs across clients due to varying factors such as:

• motivations for seeking support;
• goals of counselling;
• levels of commitment; and
• client-therapist fit.

Moreover, what one conceives or determines to be effective likely diverges from another.

It may be helpful to note that after attending an average of 8 sessions (Foundation Psychology; Saxon et al., 2016), individuals report the most significant decrease in psychological distress and are most likely to experience positive life changes.

In addition, those who decide to withdraw within or just after three sessions are less likely to experience positive outcomes as things often start taking a turn for the better after the third session (Crago & Gardner, 2012).

A therapist may be a professional counsellor or a psychologist.

Counsellors are highly skilled in applying integrative therapies to help people to work through their personal and emotional issues, while psychologists diagnose and manage more serious mental health illnesses and disorders non-medicinally over the long term.

You may wish to look through various Therapist profiles before making a decision.

The important thing is that you pick someone you feel comfortable with.

Some people try therapy with a few different therapists before finding the right fit for themselves; that is fine too.

People tend to associate counselling with life problems and difficulties.

While that is one possible reason for seeking counselling, it is not always the case.

People seek counselling for all sorts of other reasons, too.

Some examples include self-improvement, gaining clarity on one’s thought processes and coping, learning to draw boundaries more effectively, and learning to be more assertive, to name a few.

A common goal in couples or family counselling is for partners or family members to communicate more effectively.

This prevents resentment from building up over time. If you go to the gym regularly to work on your physical muscles, why would you not go for counselling to work through your emotions?

Another common myth held by many is that a problem needs to be “severe enough” or “major enough” before one begins their counselling journey.

Some people might compare their situation to that of others and mistakenly perceive that their situation does not quite “justify” the need to see a counsellor.

They then wait for their problem to worsen and find that coping becomes increasingly difficult as time goes by.

The reality is that each of us is unique; if something is important enough to you and you want to talk about it, you may chat with a counsellor.

Counsellors are trained to provide a safe and comfortable space to talk about your concerns.

Some people only go to the gym for physiotherapy after an injury. In contrast, others go out of habit, in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, without waiting for an injury to occur. Working on one’s own emotions is not that much different.

Counselling can benefit individuals of different ages – adolescents/youths, adults, and seniors.

The cost of a counselling session depends on a number of factors, such as whether the session is taking place online or in person and whether the session is for an individual, couple, or family.

In-person sessions may cost more than online sessions due to additional costs such as the rental of a venue, and couple or family sessions may cost more than individual sessions.

In addition, there may be savings when counselling sessions are purchased in bulk. For more information about the price of different types of counselling sessions at TYHO, refer to our pricing page.

If you are employed, you may wish to check with your company’s Human Resources department about whether your company has an existing Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).

This programme gives you access to fully or partially subsidised online counselling sessions, depending on your company’s specific EAP arrangement with the service provider.

Conversely, if you are currently a student, you may check with your school’s staff regarding the counselling services available.

Most schools have at least one school counsellor, with which students may have counselling sessions at no additional cost.

Counselling is delivered in several ways.

A therapist may see you in person at their office/counselling centre or your place (in the case of a house visit), speak with you online (via audio/video conferencing or live chat), or over the phone.

At TYHO, besides English, you may also converse with your Therapist in your preferred or native language.

During your session, you and your Therapist would typically engage in a discussion of your struggles and feelings.

They may then employ relevant therapeutic approaches/techniques, take you through specific exercises/activities, or perform assessments to help you better manage your challenges.

In addition, different services (e.g. individual, couples, or family therapy) may call for different mediums.

For instance, a family may find attending their family counselling session in person easier than online.

What matters is that you (and the other person(s) involved) select an option you find comfortable.

Each counselling session typically lasts one hour.

How many total counselling sessions are required varies greatly based on an individual’s (or couple’s or family’s) needs.

Clients usually start out with weekly counselling sessions at the beginning of their counselling journey, as having regular sessions helps to keep their progress going.

Subsequently, the frequency of counselling sessions may increase or decrease depending on the client’s situation, as well as what the client would like to achieve from their counselling sessions.

There are various ways to get counselling support worldwide.

These include individual hotlines for specific purposes (eg crisis support, family violence, mental health difficulties, women’s issues, pandemic-related struggles, and so on) to numerous private practices which cover a broad array of issues.

Yes, you can! That is the beauty of online counselling; it can be attended from anywhere, anytime, as long as you have a good internet connection and your device has sufficient battery.

Nonetheless, when you book a session, you may need to be mindful of any time zone differences and convert your session timing to the relevant time zone depending on where you live.

Counselling is confidential, with a few limits to it.

Generally, these limits involve situations where there is a risk of harm to the client or someone else; in these cases, safety is prioritised over confidentiality.

Therapists are also subject to the law and the ethical standards of their profession.