FAQ

Questions you may want to ask about Counselling

1. Will the topics I talk about during a Counselling session be shared with other people?
   No. I keep all that’s shared with me confidential. I understand and respect that you are putting your faith in me when sharing things about yourself. I understand these may be really close to your heart and very sensitive. Only in the very exceptional circumstance where I sense you may cause physical harm to yourself, or to any other person, or you are in danger of being harmed, I may choose to share information, to protect your physical safety. Also these are the ethical Counselling practices followed globally.
2. Who all do you provide your Counselling services to?
   I support children 13 yrs of age and above and adults through face-to-face and phone counselling services.
3. Can children come and seek Counselling support without the consent of their parents?
   Matters being discussed during a session are often sensitive; therefore it’s important for me, as a Counsellor, to work in sync with the law. In India and globally, most countries recognize persons less than 18 years of age, as minors. Therefore, if you are less than 18 years I would encourage you to seek the written consent of your parents.
4. Does it mean that everything I, a minor, discuss in a session will be shared with my parents?
   All matters shared in a session shall remain confidential between you and me, unless I sense there may be a threat to your physical safety, or to another person’s.
   
   If there is a need to share something with your parents (which usually is to do with how they can support you), I shall first inform you about it and then share with them.
5. How does Counselling work? Do Counsellors give advice?
   A Counselling session is a space where you can share what’s alive in you and what matters to you. You can talk about your thoughts and feelings. You could also share if something is troubling you, or if there is an area in life you would like to work upon and see yourself grow in. I rarely give advice during a session.
   
   I shall work with you and support you to look at what’s important to you. At times this could be difficult, tiring, shameful, or even scary to look at. I will be with you as you go through these experiences. I’ll also help you look at what you are experiencing more wholly, at the pace you choose.
   
   In seeing this wholeness we could discover what you deeply value. I have often seen that this helps to see how your situation impacts your life and it also brings clarity about what you find missing in life and are longing for. There are several deepening processes to support this seeing, which we could look at going into together. The goal of these sessions is to support you to emerge into a space where you find yourself in a position of choice.
6. What is a session like?
   In the first session I will encourage you to share about yourself for me to understand what’s important for you, and what you would like to work on. I’ll also share about how we will work together. You may ask questions on how sessions work, how we will spend our time in a session, about my experience in Counselling, or any other clarifying questions you may have.
   
   Further sessions would have both of us talking, reflecting and engaging in exercises to connect with what’s alive and what’s important to you.
7. How long do I need to continue with sessions?
   Sessions are usually scheduled once a week or more, depending upon your need. There is no way to determine in advance how many sessions would support you to be where you’d like to be. Usually, I’ve seen that it takes 3-4 sessions to form a deep connection. Beyond that, an intuitive sense guides us to know how we are doing together and how we’d like to take things ahead. I encourage you to raise and discuss this with me as it comes up for you.
   
   In case you get a sense of wanting to take a break from the sessions, or feel complete at any given time, or want to end the sessions, I would request you to share this with me candidly.
   
   Also, to support my growth in my work, I would request that we review what worked wonderfully for you, what didn’t work for you and you wish you had more of.
8. What if I need to re-schedule my session?
   You could check with me if you need to change the date, or time of a scheduled session, at least a day before the scheduled session. I work solely on an appointment basis and don’t take same-day-cancellations, unless in an emergency. This also helps me schedule my time & sessions in advance. Therefore, for face-to-face calls if there are same-day-cancellations I request remuneration for the scheduled session to value my time. For telephone based calls, I request remuneration for a call in advance.
9. In which languages do you offer your services?
   I offer my services in fluent Hindi and English, and workable Marwari and Bengali.