What has the counselling team been up to?
Alternatives prides itself on being able to offer professional , caring and confidential Counselling services to anyone who is facing any kind of pregnancy-related challenge. From Infertility through to Postnatal Depression, our team of dedicated Counsellors share their time, empathy, skills, wisdom and insights as they listen to, and journey with, people who are struggling through very difficult circumstances and emotional pain.
As a team, we regularly get together to support one another; to share new learning, to encourage one another, to think outside the box and to develop new understanding and skills. In June we were fortunate to have two excellent speakers who shared their experiences to enhance our work.
Our first speaker was a Midwife who was able to remind us, and educate us, on the medical terminology and practical outworkings of the Maternity care, delivery suite and postnatal wards. This was extremely helpful as clients often share parts of these experiences with us, but our focus is always on them and their feelings, so it is not always appropriate to ask them to clarify certain words or procedures. Having this kind of learning ensures the Counsellors are more aware of, and understand better, things that are said and done in a hospital setting.
Our second speaker was an ex-client who had come to us for support during her struggles with infertility and her journey through IVF. Hearing her story from beginning to end was extremely powerful, beginning to understand more about how the Fertility clinic works was useful and being able to ask questions about different aspects of the journey gave everyone a greater understanding. The personal touch was far better than any book we might read or course we might attend.
In addition to the main speakers, we took time to share our own personal learning and insights, including courses we have attended, books we have written, self-care tips we have found useful and ideas we might have about the future
We took time to encourage one another, recognising that Counsellors, like everyone else, need time to rest, to reflect and to recharge their batteries and we also thought about the charity as a whole; how we fit into it, what else is going on within Alternatives, the challenges we face, the joys we have celebrated and the future as we move forward together.
Each Counsellor at Alternatives takes their work very seriously, it is a privilege and a pleasure to work here, and we continue to strive to offer the absolute best service possible for all our clients.
Angela Such.