FAQs

Counselling is a private and confidential process in which you share and discuss, with a counsellor, your feelings, emotions and thoughts related to problems or issues that may be causing you distress. Counselling can help you gain insights into your problem areas and identify and overcome any blocks or limitations.

The primary aim of counselling is to help you deal more effectively with your problems and concerns and to experience growth.

They key difference between counselling & coaching is that in the latter, the focus is primarily on the way forward and on arriving at future goals and action points, while in counselling some time is also spent on reflecting on the past to understand and work on any root causes before working on the way forward.

It is important to understand that there is a fine line between counselling and coaching and both approaches are very effective in helping overcome everyday issues such as inter-personal relationships, self-care, self-awareness and work-life problems. Both involve the use of models, tools and techniques for enhancing self-awareness and for exploration of thoughts, feelings & emotions.

So, if you would like help with designing / achieving career goals, bridging skill-gaps, work-life issues, etc. coaching may be more appropriate. And if you are struggling to cope with distressful emotions (e.g. sadness, anger, anxiety, stress, guilt), suffer from self-doubt or self-esteem issues then counselling may be more helpful as working on the root-cause may be important.

Like Counselling, Psychotherapy is also a private and confidential process in which you share and discuss, with your Psychotherapist, your feelings, emotions and thoughts related to problems or issues that may be causing you distress. Psychotherapy helps to gain insights into the problem areas and to identify and overcome any blocks or limitations to growth.

Key distinctions between Counselling and Psychotherapy:

1. Counselling tends to focus on a specific problem, while Psychotherapy often addresses deep-rooted issues causing dysfunctionality in different domains.
2. Counselling is often short-term while Psychotherapy may be required for medium or long-term when issues are deep and complex
3. Counselling is usually a client-centred approach where the critical skills and attitudes are empathy, active listening and unconditional regard. Psychotherapy additionally involves the use of therapeutic tools and techniques acquired through training and education in special therapeutic approaches like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Hypnotherapy, etc.

Coaching is a private and confidential process in which your Coach will collaborate with you to help you overcome issues or problems that you may be facing in your personal / professional life and thereby experience growth.

They key difference between Counselling/Psychotherapy and Coaching is that in the latter, the focus is primarily on the way forward and on arriving at future goals and action points, while in counselling/psychotherapy some time is also spent on reflecting on the past to understand and work on any root causes before working on the way forward.

It is important to understand that there is a fine line between counselling/psychotherapy and coaching and both approaches are very effective in helping overcome everyday issues such as inter-personal relationships, self-care, self-awareness and work-life problems. Both involve the use of models, tools and techniques for enhancing self-awareness and for exploration of thoughts, feelings & emotions.

So, if you would like help with designing / achieving career goals, bridging skill-gaps, work-life issues, etc. coaching may be more appropriate. And if you are struggling to cope with distressful emotions (e.g. sadness, anger, anxiety, stress, guilt), suffer from self-doubt or self-esteem issues then counselling/psychotherapy may be more helpful as working on the root-cause may be important.

Like counselling and coaching, mentoring is also a private and confidential process in which your mentor will collaborate with you to help you work on your personal / professional goals to experience growth.

What makes Mentoring distinct from Counselling, Psychotherapy and Coaching in that the process primarily involves the Mentor giving advice, guidance and support to help you (the mentee) achieve your goals. Knowledge sharing and role-modelling by Mentor are integral to mentoring.

A Mentor must be an expert in the relevant domain so they can tap into their knowledge, skills, experiences and perspective to facilitate personal and professional growth in their Mentees.

So, if you would like to tap into the expertise and experience of someone who can give you useful and relevant guidance and advise for achieving your goals in professional or personal life domains, Mentoring is what you need.

• Your sessions are conducted by the counsellor / psychotherapist / coach / mentor in strict confidentiality adhering to the global code of conduct of the professions.  They will not disclose your identity or discuss the details of your case with anyone, unless their are exceptional circumstances explained below. They may or may not inform you in advance in the rare event that they need to break confidentiality.

• Breach of confidentiality: Exceptional circumstances under which the counsellor / psychotherapist / coach / mentor will need to inform a doctor, a responsible person in your family or an appropriate organization or entity about the feared risk or danger are:
  – If they believes you are at risk of seriously harming yourself, injuring someone else or at serious risk of being harmed by someone else
  – If during the session, it becomes evident that you have committed or intend to commit a crime such as robbery, child abuse, sexual abuse, murder or terrorism

Your counsellor, psychotherapist, coach or mentor will create a conducive environment to help you relax and share your problems, issues or goals openly. They will not judge your thoughts or actions – instead, they will he empathise with you and ensure that you feel fully supported, heard and understood.

They will help you gain clarity on your problem area and recognize unhelpful and self­-defeating habits and belief systems. They will also help you gain a fresh, new perspective on your situation. They will not tell you what to do and will not advise you or direct you on the “right” course of action. They will work collaboratively with you to help you arrive at appropriate solutions to your problem.

If you have opted for mentoring, your mentor will additionally give you relevant advice and guidance when needed to help you achieve your goals.

• It would be good to share basic personal information with your counsellor / psychotherapist / coach / mentor: your name, age, relationship status, occupation, etc. You can decide to withhold further personal information such as names of family members or your location/address if you wish to. However, if some of this information is part of the problem it will really help to share as much as possible.

• Remember, it is always advisable to be completely honest with your counsellor / psychotherapist / coach / mentor so that they can help you to the best of their abilities and you can maximise your benefits. Some of the things you should share with them include:

  • any past experience you may have of counselling, psychotherapy or coaching
  • any medications you may be taking currently or have done in the recent past
  • any mental health issue you may have – whether or not you have had treatment for it in the past
  • if you are being physically abused by someone
  • if you fear for your safety
  • if you have suicidal thoughts

Each counselling/ psychotherapy/ coaching/ mentoring session is 45-60 minutes long. However, sometimes you may mutually agree with your counsellor/ psychotherapist/ coach/ mentor to have a 30 min or a 90 min session. 

Sometimes just 1-3 sessions are all it takes to experience a positive shift, but most people require 6­-8 sessions to bring about significant, enduring changes.

Deep-­seeded or complex issues may require several months of psychotherapy or coaching.

Counselling and Psychotherapy can help deal with a wide range of everyday life issues. Some typical problems that people bring to us are:

• Acute or chronic anxiety or stress
• Dealing with personal loss or bereavement
• Relationship issues – e.g. family conflict, marital stress, lack of love/intimacy, physical, verbal or emotional abuse
• Parenting issues ­- e.g. adolescence, sexuality, bad behaviour, poor academic performance, digital addiction, substance abuse, etc.
• Work-life issues ­- e.g. work life balance, harassment, coping with change, inter­personal relationships, managing people, time management, etc.
• Removing personal growth blocks for self­ development -­ e.g.  lack of confidence / assertiveness, communication skills, anger management.
• Loneliness and depression
• Fears and phobias

We currently do not provide medical assistance, psychiatric treatment or clinical psychologists, BUT you will be referred to someone if the need arises. 

Coaching can help deal with a wide range of issues in one’s personal / professional life. Some typical problems that people bring to us include:

• Work-related stress / anxiety / burn-out
• Inter-personal relationship issues – e.g. conflict resolution, poor team dynamics
• Work-life issues ­- e.g. work life balance, harassment, coping with change, managing people, time management, etc.
• Clarity on career goals, ambitions, vision and growth
• Decision-Making and Problem-Solving
• Overcoming personal growth blocks for self­ development -­ e.g.  lack of confidence / assertiveness, communication skills, anger management

Mentoring can help deal with a wide range of issues in one’s professional or even personal life such as:

• Skill Development
• Gaining insights into a specific industry / sector or role
• Leadership Development
• Navigating workplace dynamics or issues
• Clarity on career goals, ambitions, vision and growth
• Decision-Making
• Problem-Solving
• Self-development

• Once you have signed up for our services, you will have the same counsellor, psychotherapist, coach or mentor for all your sessions. Your emails and messages will be re-directed to the same counsellor/ psychotherapist/ coach/ mentor.

• If you had opted for counselling/ psychotherapy, and your counsellor / psychotherapist believes you can benefit more from the services of a coach or mentor, they will discuss this with you and refer you onwards to a coach or mentor that suit your needs and will support your through the transition to another professional, as needed. Similarly, if you had opted for coaching, and your coach believes you can benefit more by being referred to a counsellor, psychotherapist or mentor, they will discuss this with you and refer you onwards appropriately. The same process would be followed if your mentor believes you could benefit from counselling or psychotherapy.

• If at some point you are dissatisfied with your counsellor / coach / mentor or would like a change, you can write to Renu Sachdeva at prismcounselling@gmail.com  requesting for a change of counsellor / coach / mentor, stating your reasons. Thereafter, you will be referred to another suitable professional and be supported through the transition.

Booking a session is a very simple:  just send a session request in any of the following ways and we will respond to you within 48 hours to book your appointment:

• Online – Click on the “Book A Session” tab and provide the details requested for in the form
• WhatsApp – Send a WhatsApp message on +91-8800485003 or +971-585485003 providing your name, age, nature of problem, etc.
• Email – Send an email to prismcounselling@gmail.com  providing your name and nature of problem/ concern.

Please make advance payment for your session. The pricing and fee structure is provided on the Contact Us page.

We would advise you to read and sign the Service Agreement before the sessions begin. A copy of the service agreement can be found on the Contact Us page.

Online sessions can be conducted very conveniently through various platforms:  WhatsApp, Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet, etc. They can even be done through a telephone / mobile phone or emails.

While we offer all the above online options, we would highly recommend you go for video sessions as they allow for face-­to-­face communication. You could also use a combination of these modes depending on your preference and convenience at any point in time.

All these online modes work well, but obviously they have their individual pros & cons.

• Convenient:­ Online sessions allows you to get counselling / psychotherapy / coaching / mentoring at a time and place suiting your convenience – at home or in your workplace or any other location. You simply need to choose the communication mode that suits you best.
• Private and discreet: You can avail of the session in the privacy of your own home or any other secure place. No one needs to know you are seeking help if you don’t want them to.
• Anonymous: If you feel embarrassed or awkward about what others might think about your issues, you can choose to remain anonymous – although it is not ideal.
• Safe: Online sessions offer a safe and secure option for those that are particularly vulnerable or concerned about exposure. Especially after the recent Covid-19 pandemic.
• Saves time & money:  By choosing online mode, you can save hours of travel time and / or waiting time.
• Maintain records : You can keep records of your sessions. You will also have access to all the online information and submissions – especially homework tasks such as mood diaries, self-awareness tasks, self-evaluation tests, etc.

Since most online planforms such as Zoom offer very good video quality and interface, the face-­to-­face interactions and connection of in­-person therapy also gets incorporated somewhat into online sessions, making them even more effective.

• Before you take a decision to opt for online sessions, you need to be aware of some downsides of some online modes vis­-à-vis in-­person face-­to-­face offline options :

  • With telephone or online audio or chat sessions, the Counsellor/ Psychotherapist/ Coach/ Mentor can gauge your feelings and emotions to a large extent, but not as well as they would in a face­-to-­face format. So, openness and sharing by you become even more critical in online sessions as they cannot read your facial expressions or body language (unless you opt for video sessions).
  • There is a risk of misunderstanding or misinterpreting if there is heavy reliance on written text i.e. through email or instant messaging – the onus is on the Counsellor/ Psychotherapist/ Coach/ Mentor to ensure they have fully understood what you are trying to say and you will have to ensure there is no ambiguity in your communication. This problem obviously does not exist for audio / video sessions.
  • The rapport and bond between you and your Counsellor/ Psychotherapist/ Coach/ Mentor is established a lot quicker and more easily through offline sessions and even video sessions. Audio sessions or chat sessions can take longer to establish rapport and bond.

• Absolutely yes!

• The support provided though online sessions can be insufficient for clients with serious issues such as suicidal tendencies or those facing a life-­threatening situation.

• Online sessions are also not advisable for clients suffering from serious mental health issues such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, hallucinations and acute substance abuse. Such clients are advised to opt for in-­person face-­to-­face psychotherapy.

• Our Service Agreement for Counselling. Psychotherapy, Coaching, Mentoring and other allied services can be found here: https://prismcounselling.com/counselling-agreement/
• It is also provided at the bottom of the FAQs page.
• You must carefully read all the terms and conditions of the agreement before starting your sessions.
• If you have any queries about the Service Agreement, please write to Renu Sachdeva at prismcounselling@gmail.com.