All counselling staff employed by Women Partners are qualified, highly skilled and specialise in trauma informed care, and principles of trauma informed counselling. They hold a strong understanding of sexuality and sexual identity, understand the impacts of betrayal and infidelity, and practice confidential and non-judgemental counselling. Whilst Women Partner’s support all expressions of sexuality, this counselling is focused on supporting women navigate their experience of being a woman partner of a man who has sex with other men.
What is counselling?
Many people find that their usual coping mechanisms are overwhelmed by unexpected or a series of events in their lives. As a result, lots of people reach out to trained mental health professionals in these moments to help them navigate the emotional distress, conflicts, shock and trauma they may be experiencing (1). Counselling is a talk therapy, which can help process significant life events such as death, depression, anxiety, domestic and family violence, childhood experiences including abuse, intergenerational trauma such as in First Nations people, addictions, change in relationship or family status and change in sexual identity/behaviours (2,3).
Why is it so important to know about your counsellors’ skills and experience?
Counsellors should be trained, qualified and have experience in the area you are needing support with. It is ok for you to ask your counsellor about their experience and comfort levels discussing your needs. For example, if you are needing help navigate impacts of changing sexuality, you may not wish to see a gambling specialist. Many qualified counsellors are members of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, Australian Counselling Association, Australian College of Applied Professionals, Australian Association of Social Workers, or a membership body equivalent to this. It’s always ok to confirm your counsellors’ qualifications and skills.
Trust in the counsellor is one of the most important partsof a counselling relationship. Client’s often attend counselling at their mostvulnerable and overwhelmed. Clients often tell counsellors incredibly privatethings, that can make them feel vulnerable, exposed or embarrassed. This is whyit is so important to know your counsellor’s skillset, qualifications andexperience level, so that it is a positive relationship that helps clientsmanage their overwhelm.
What is the process of counselling?
Whilst counselling can be slightly different depending on need, majority of counselling interventions follow similar pathways. The first few appointments are often an assessment to understand what brought the client to counselling, help identify what the client wants from therapy, and to goals on where the client hopes to end up. This period is a good time for both counsellor and client to see whether they are a good fit together.
Counselling is a two-way process; both of listening and feeding back on what has been heard, for both client and counsellor. Counsellors empathetically and actively listen to their clients’ stories, lives, emotions and thoughts. Clients allow counsellors to respectfully and empathically provide feedback, validation for their experiences, provide education on impacts of trauma, grief and loss on body, mind and spirit. Counsellors can help the client explore and have new ways of thinking, feeling or reacting to an event that has occurred in their lives (1).
What is trauma informed counselling?
Women Partners believe that trauma informed counselling isfundamental and a necessity in helping clients safely process their experienceand move into the life they wish for and deserve. Trauma is defined anexperience or set of life circumstances that create fear, overwhelm and areemotionally and physically harmful, and can have long lasting impacts on theindividual (4).
Trauma informed care is based on the principles of safety(internal and external), choice, collaboration, trust and empowerment. Trauma informed care also reframes the question of “what is wrong with you?” to “what has happened to you?” (4.) Therefore, trauma informed care places trauma at the centre of the experience to make sense of the symptoms. For example, rather than treating difficulty trusting others as a separate event, trauma informed care would look at the underlying cause of this trust breakdown, for example, infidelity, and would work on supporting impacts of the infidelity, which would likely help with the trust. Trauma informed counselling priorities safety as fundamental – both external safety and psychological safety, and the therapeutic work focuses on choice, collaboration and empowerment of to choose the right path for them (5).
Women Partners are here for you should counselling be the right pathway for you. Click on the Contact Us page should you live in New South Wales.
1) Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia. Counselling and Psychotherapy Definitions. Cited 2024 August 6.Available from: https://pacfa.org.au/portal/Portal/Prac-Res/Resources/CPDefinitions.aspx
2) National Health Service. Counselling. 2023(cited 2024 Aug 6). Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/counselling/
3) Blue Knot. Intergenerational Trauma. 2021 (cited2024 Aug 7). Available from: https://blueknot.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/19_BK_FS_IntergenerationalTrauma_DEC23.pdf
4) Agency for Clinical Innovation. Trauma InformedCare in Mental Health Services across NSW. 2022 (cited 2024 Aug 7). Availablefrom: https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/719871/ACI-Trauma-informed-care-practice-mental-health-services-across-NSW-Framework.pdf
5) Trauma Informed Care Implementation ResourceCentre. What is Trauma Informed Care? 2024 (cited 17 Dec 2024). Available from:https://www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/what-is-trauma-informed-care/#:~:text=Following%20are%20recognized%20core%20principles,also%20for%20providers%20and%20staff.
