Published on 16 August 2023
What is Individual Counseling?
Once in your lifetime, you must have heard about the term “individual counseling”, also known as individual psychotherapy, talk therapy, or simply therapy.
It can be confusing to keep track of different kinds of therapy and how they can help you in your personal life. But when we talk about individual psychotherapy, it solely focuses on you, your issues, your goals, and your development.
In this type of counseling, the therapist and the client form a therapeutic relationship and discuss the client’s life in-depth, be it about their personal development, career, goals, relationships, or minor obstacles. The therapist provides the client with unconditional positive regard and creates a nurturing environment where the client feels safe to speak their heart out.
Moreover, the therapeutic space is one that is solely dedicated to the client, where the client is held safely with empathy and attunement and can discuss with openness whatever concerns they are facing. One can go to therapy not only when they feel there is an issue at hand but also to understand themselves, develop self-awareness and just to have a space where they can have an alternative perspective on various life situations.
How Does Individual Counseling Help?
Individual counseling solely focuses on the individual and their personal life, goals, relationships, and development. Mostly, if you take individual counseling, it contributes to your holistic development.
Individual counseling is tailored to your specific needs and goals, and whatever conversation you have with your counselor is kept confidential and safe. You get to understand your problems through an objective lens, become more self-aware, look after yourself and your relationships with proper care, and understand the importance of mental well-being.
It is not easy to give yourself care and love amidst the constant pressure from societal standards; however, when you take individual therapy, you develop an objective understanding of yourself and life while having all the joys of the world without fearing what others may think or say.
In a nutshell, individual counseling helps you become a better version of yourself, makes you grateful, and helps you build the life you truly want.
What are the Benefits of Individual Counseling?
While there are many benefits to individual counseling, some of the greatest benefits for your overall well-being are –
Improved Self-Awareness
Individual therapy helps you look within yourself with more clarity and positivity. You become more aware of your thought pattern and get a keen understanding of how to handle them better. Talking to the counselors and getting to know yourself from a third-eye perspective makes you understand yourself like you understand your friend, which strengthens your intuition and helps you look at yourself with clarity and objectivity.
Healthy Coping Mechanism
When you seek individual counseling, you gradually start to develop strong and healthy coping skills. When you prioritize your mental wellbeing and know what coping strategies might be best for you, you are choosing a healthy lifestyle for yourself. It is easy to choose an unhealthy lifestyle and escape the stress of life by depending on alcohol, parties, and other addictions. However, when you choose to look after yourself, you tend to choose a healthy lifestyle.
Change in Perception
It is very common to develop a pessimistic overview of the world when you see most individuals suffering and surviving their way through life. However, when you seek individual therapy, this perspective on the world slowly and steadily changes. You understand that while there is suffering and sadness in the world, there is a whole lot of positivity as well. You realize that it is easy to mourn and get sad over petty things, but it is difficult to navigate your way through those obstacles strong-headedly and with a smile on your face. Counseling makes you strong and realistic, and it helps you find joy in the little yet most important things in life as you learn ways to cultivate self-compassion, acceptance, and gratitude.
Mindfulness
There is no doubt that being present in the moment is difficult, and most of us are daydreaming while doing other tasks. However, if you seek counseling and consciously try to change your routine and thought pattern, you become a bit more mindful of everything, whether it is your thoughts, how you speak, what you say, where you spend your time, or how much of your life is the way you want it to be.
Self-Exploration
When you seek individual counseling, you become curious to know yourself properly. You tend to go on this quest where you wish to spend time with yourself, understand your hobbies, likes, and dislikes, and take yourself out on dates. By taking a step towards prioritizing yourself and your mental health, you begin to explore yourself and love yourself.
What to Expect in an Individual Counseling Session
Individual counseling is a way to understand yourself, your goals, and your mind. Here is what you can expect in the session:
For starters, in the first few sessions, the individual therapist makes you feel comfortable by creating a safe and positive environment. They help you settle in and build a rapport between you and them.
Once you get comfortable with the therapist and feel that they suit your needs, the therapist asks you about your therapeutic goals, obstacles, and how they can help you.
Once there is an understanding of your needs, the individual therapist makes an individualized treatment plan for you and asks for your consent. If you are okay with it, they go ahead with it, and if it feels like something that doesn’t suit your needs, you can communicate this to them so they can change their plan or recommend you a different therapist.
Once consent has been obtained and everyone is on the same page, the therapist tries to get to know you by asking youquestions about yourself, your parents, your household, your medical history, and your childhood history.
It might be difficult at times to open up about yourself, remember things about your childhood, or express things that might bring out your fears or insecurities. However, instead of running away from it, share with your therapist that it is quite difficult for you to open up, and they will help you with this process at your own pace.
Other than this, some topics or situations might stir up some mixed emotions inside of you; at times it might be anger, or at times it might be pure sadness. Do not bottle them up; let them out. Cry out in front of your therapist and let those emotions run free. By giving your emotions a safe and non-judgmental space, you will instantly feel lighter and better.
As you make progress, you will get more in touch with your inner child, and you’ll be able to attain your goals slowly and steadily.
Individual therapy sessions usually last for about an hour, and although the frequency depends from case to case, they usually last for about 12-16 sessions.
If you feel like terminating counseling in the middle, you can talk to your therapist about it, as you will be able to get some closure and understanding of your overall situation.
No one tells you this, but if there is a sensitive issue or something that your therapist couldn’t understand the way you wanted them to, it is better to talk about it with them rather than assume they are a therapist; they have to be perfect. Therapists are humans too; they can make mistakes in interpreting a situation. Moreover, your therapist wouldn’t know an issue is sensitive to you if you don't tell them about it. So while talking about your issues is important, it is also important to tell them if you don't wish to share something with them, especially if you aren’t ready.
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How Does Individual Counseling Differ From Group Counseling?
The major difference between individual counseling and group counseling is that in the former, there is only one client and one therapist, and the therapy revolves around that one person’s goals, needs, issues, relationships, and personal development.
Whereas, in group counseling, there is more than one person, usually 5-10 people, and one counselor or at times two counselors, who facilitate the whole process smoothly. Moreover, in group counseling, the whole group motivates and listens to other people’s issues and encourages them to keep pushing themselves. This acts as a motivator for other people to open up, listen, reflect, look into themselves, and find the strength to work on themselves.
While individual counseling and group counseling, both help in the betterment of you as an individual, it depends from person to person as to what may suit them and what is their actual preference for their overall well-being.
What is the Success Rate of Individual Counseling?
The definition of success might differ for everyone. A lot of people might define success as when you do not need personal therapy and feel perfectly fine, while others may define it as understanding yourself enough through therapy that you are confident that you will be able to handle future obstacles without the need for individual counseling.
Looking at the statistics and experiences of people, it shows that most people rate their individual counseling sessions depending on the kind of therapist they have, the technique they use, and how much effort they are willing to put in. The success rate depends on the overall effort of both you and the therapist.
If you find a therapist that matches your needs and put in the effort wholeheartedly, along with you doing your bit, you will have a good success rate.
How Can Now&Me Help You Find the Right Therapist?
Our platform, Now&Me, is a safe place that can help you feel lighter by writing out whatever is weighing you down. If you do not know what you are exactly looking for or how to find the right therapist for yourself, you can write to us, and we will help you get in touch with a therapist who will guide you in the best way possible at 1/4th the cost of traditional therapy.
However, if you are looking to share and feel light, you can become a part of a non-judgmental, inclusive, and friendly community that might help you look at things from a different perspective. Become a part of the larger community and understand yourself with the help of individual counseling.
When you do not know if you really want individual counseling, sign up on Now&Me , take a shorter version of therapy, and talk to an expert about it who can help you understand your needs, your goals, and if you really want to have therapy.
Download the Now&Me app for free and start your healing journey with a panel of qualified experts and a loving community.
