Paul Cockayne – 07791 970406 – paulcockayne3@gmail.com
This blog is intended to give you a flavour of how I work as a counsellor. You can find more information about me by clicking one of the links above.

I wasn’t a great fan of doing homework when I was at school, and I’m not a great fan of setting it as a counsellor. For many people, counselling is a way of stimulating change, whether that is a change in thinking or in action – and often people leave a counselling session with a lot to think about, or with ideas about what they can do differently. These people will be doing “homework” of their own design, without necessarily thinking about it that way. This is the best sort of homework – and the best sort of change comes from within, rather than it needing to be imposed on us.

For some people, however, it can be useful for me to set some homework. For couples, this will often be about communication – finding time to sit down together and talk about the relationship. For couples or individuals, it may be a specific target for the week in terms of changes in behaviour. Or it may be about some work that can be done in preparation for the next session of counselling.

As ever, my approach is a flexible one, the intention being to work in a way that best helps you to a position where you no longer need to come to counselling.