The Role of the Counsellor
Some rehabilitation centres will have a counselling psychologist, clinical psyshologist or Nurse Counsellor on their staff. Where the Centre does not have a counsellor on their staff, they will have access to the counselling service provided by the PCT they are part of.
This service is available to individuals and their carers who are about to undergo or have undergone amputation surgery. It is also available for parents of children born with congenital limb deficiencies or limb absence.
The counselling service provides you with the opportunity to talk privately and confidentially about your feelings and experiences in a way that might not be possible with friends and family. Counsellors are trained to listen and help you find your own solutions to any difficulties you may be experiencing. The counsellor will not give you the answer, but he or she will help you make sense of what is happening to you and help you to make positive decisions for yourself.
CONFIDENTIALITY
It can be a great relief to be able to share your fears in the knowledge that what you say will not be repeated without your consent or agreement.
Counselling Sessions
Usually take place on a weekly basis to begin with and last for 40 minutes to an hour. The number of sessions you require will be decided between yourself and the counsellor. Some counsellors only work with referrals from the centre they are based at while others will make hospital visits and home visits. This will depend on the set up and your personal circumstances. Most counselling services will accept self-referrals as well as referrals from members of the multidisciplinary rehabilitation team.
For a list of centers which offer this service please click here.
The NHS employs the following staff within the counselling service.
Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychologists aim to reduce psychological distress and to enhance and promote psychological well-being.
They work with people with mental or physical health problems – which might include anxiety and depression, serious and enduring mental illness, adjustment to physical illness, neurological disorders, addictive behaviours, childhood behaviour disorders, personal and family relationships. They work with people throughout the life-span and with those with learning disabilities.
Clinical Psychologists work largely in health and social care settings including hospitals, health centres, community mental health teams, child and adolescent mental health services and social services, also they will often work alongside other professionals including doctors, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists.
To assess a client, a clinical psychologist may undertake a clinical assessment using a variety of methods including psychometric tests, interviews and direct observation of behaviour. Assessment may lead to therapy, counselling or advice.
Due to their high level of research skills, clinical psychologists undertake the role of scientist-practitioner as an innovator and applied researcher adding to the evidence base of practice in a variety of health care settings
Counselling Psychology
Counselling psychologists apply psychology to working collaboratively with people across a diverse range of human problems.
These include helping people to manage difficult life events such as bereavement, past and present relationships and working with mental health issues and disorders.
Counselling psychologists accept subjective experience as valid for each person, explore underlying issues and use an active collaborative relationship to empower people to consider change. Counselling psychologists utilise a holistic stance, which involves examining the issues brought, within the wider context of what has given rise to them.
Counselling Psychologists work within the NHS both in general and psychiatric hospitals and GP surgeries. They may also work within private hospitals, independent practice, industry, education in schools and universities, and in public and private corporate institutions.
Within these settings counselling psychologists may work directly with individuals, couples, families, groups or act as consultants.
Health Psychology
Health psychology is a new and rapidly evolving area, and can be defined as the practice and application of psychological methods to the study of behaviour relevant to health, illness and health care.
For example, the study of why and when people seek professional advice about their health, why they do or do not recommend preventative measures, how patients and health care professionals interact, how patients adapt to illness, and the links between perception, health behaviour and physical functioning.
The work of a health psychologist is targeted at the problems of public health, the provisions of the health care and the response to illness. The problems may be identified by health care agencies, including NHS Trusts and the Health Authorities, health professionals such as GPs, nurses and rehabilitation therapists, and organisations and employers outside the health care system.
