How Long Does Counselling Take?

​​​Good question! I'd want to know the same thing. The honest, but frustrating answer is that it's hard to say without learning a bit about you, your circumstances and the type/level of support you're seeking.  I don't offer packages because the range of support people want and need can vary quite a bit. ​​

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If you're like me though, you'd appreciate a bit more information than "it depends". 

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Career counselling ranges from short term support to longer term support. Here are some ballpark examples: 

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Short term (3-8 appointments)

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• job search support

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• interview support  

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• exploring career options 

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• support learning & practicing skills (like communication, setting boundaries)

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Longer term support (more than 8 appointments)

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• support during stress leave or short term disability (or period leading up to deciding to take leave)

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• support navigating difficult workplace situations 

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• support making a major career shift ​​

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• support building or re-building confidence 

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• support addressing an issue that you've been working on or mulling over for years 

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Here are some factors that tend to influence the length and pace of counselling:

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• $$$ - counselling can be tailored to fit peoples' budgets and available extended benefits 

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• ​level of crisis - when there's a crisis at work (or close to it), people often want/need more support because it can be hard to figure out which way is up when you're in the thick of things. People in crisis often want/need to work quickly. I work at whatever pace people think is helpful. Sometimes that means meeting weekly, every few weeks, or a a few sessions in a short period of time to get you 'off to the races'

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• motivation & energy levels - some people come to counselling keen to work on things and others need a bit of time to warm up (they kinda know they need to face things and they also kinda want to avoid them). The good news is that it's often easier than people assume to face things (believe it or not, it can actually be a relief for some people). Generally speaking, the harder things are to face, the longer counselling can take. The same is true of energy levels - when you start counselling with very little energy, it can take a bit of time to focus on building up energy before you get to the point where you feel ready to focus on next steps  

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• feelings - people often come to counselling wrestling with tough feelings (confusion, anxiety, depression, frustration, anger, disappointment, discouragement, resentment, hopelessness, grief and regret). The bigger the feelings, the longer it can take to work through them in counselling and get to a point where you feel ready to focus on next steps ​​

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• legwork before counselling - people sometimes start counselling after a sudden realization and other times, they start after doing a lot of thinking and legwork on their own. If you've had a chance to think about your situation before coming to counselling, it sometimes speeds things up  

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• ​decision-making styles - some people make decisions quickly and others prefer to gather lots of information and take their time. Generally speaking, if you're someone who tends to gather a lot of information and take your time with decisions, counselling can take longer ​​

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• preferred level of support - some people prefer to do a lot of legwork on their own between appointments and others prefer more support talking things through and bouncing ideas off others  

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• accountability - some people use counselling to stick help them stick with plans that are important to them ​​and other people are off to the races. Counselling can last longer if you need longer term support staying accountable to your plans​

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Note that the frequency and pace of career counselling can be different from general counselling (it's common to meet weekly, but there are situations where I meet people for a few sessions in a short period of time (for example, for interview preparation or when people are trying to decide whether to quit a job) or a meet people infrequently (for example, when people are doing research on their own). If you have specific concerns about timing/# of sessions (like limited benefits), please don't hesitate to let me know about your concerns.