HOW TO GET STARTED WITH COUNSELLING

Two women sitting and talking, one holding a clipboard and pen.

How do I know if I
need counselling?

A great question! Here’s a few things to keep in mind.

First, remember that people go to counselling for lots of different reasons. Usually, it’s because their facing some emotional challenge that they need support with or because they’re trying to explore something about who they are that could benefit from a trusted confidante.

Second, in asking yourself “Do I need counselling?” you’re acknowledging that there’s something your trying to figure out that you might need help with. It doesn’t mean that you need to reach out, but it’s a good sign that something you’re facing is pretty significant and it’s worth considering getting some help.

A good reference we like to use is the question “How much is my life being affected?” If your questions or concerns are having a significant enough impact on your life that it feels like it comes up more often than not, it might be a good time to reach out. For example, if it leads to a lot of arguments with a spouse or friend, if you find yourself constantly thinking about whatever it is, if you often feel like you can’t be happy or calm, it’s worth reaching out for a consultation.

How Do I Find a Good Counsellor?

There’s a few tips for finding a counsellor you can trust.

  • The mental health field can feel confusing, especially if you’re new to it. It also varies from province to province in Canada and other places in the world.

    It can help to narrow down the type of therapist who can best help with your concerns.

    Counsellors, in general can help with a variety of concerns and each counsellor tends to have a few areas that they focus on. This might be something like anxiety, depression, trauma, children’s issues, or something else. Kristy on our team is a counsellor who focuses on trauma, anxiety, and working with young professionals.

    Psychologists are a type of professionals who have specialized training in using various tools and techniques related to assessment so if having a formal diagnosis is important, it would be good to seek someone out in this field. Landmark Counselling does not currently have a Psychologist on our team.

    Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT) are another unique class of counsellor. They have specialized training in relationship dynamics and families but can also work with individuals on a wide range of concerns. Desmond on our team is a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist and focuses on working with partners facing concerns like infidelity, communication issues, or significant life changes.

  • There are loads of different services that allow therapists to share their profiles with potential clients and you can generally search by postal code or province for. Two good examples of that are :

    Start here to narrow your search and find people who seem like you’d have a good connection with.

  • The quality of the relationship you have with your counsellor/therapist is a good indicator of how effective your therapy will be. Many people find that getting recommendations from friends is a good way of narrowing the list. You can also ask primary care doctors or other professionals if they have any recommendations as well.

  • In Newfoundland & Labrador, the practice of counselling is widely unregulated. In many other places, counsellors require a provincial license to practice, however that is not widely true in this province.

    When looking for a counsellor, there are some professional organizations who offer voluntary certifications/registrations and it’s a good plan to seek out a therapist with these certifications as a extra sign of their credibility.

We’re always ready to help.

At Landmark Counselling, we’re always ready to help if you need us. We’re passionate about the work that we do to help people become the best versions of themselves.

If you feel like Landmark might be the right fit for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re more than happy to connect with you and talk about how we can help and determine if we might be the best partner for you in your counselling journey.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Contact Us

We would love to hear from you and connect about whether our practice would be a good fit for your particular needs.

Reach out using the form on this page and we’ll connect with you just as soon as we can.