Do you feel people today are under a lot of stress?

Absolutely, we all pile the stress on ourselves unfortunately to some degree. We all feel we need to move through life at a speed of knots to keep up with our colleagues/peers and even our neighbours and in the melee of this we lose sight of what's really important. Its very sad, that's why I am working to help all those that I can!

What seem to be the main causes of the people you help deal with their stress?

Its referenced above really. Putting unrealistic pressure on ourselves and not living enough in the moment, taking time out to live each day as it comes rather than planning ahead, sometimes years in to the future when what we really need to do is just slow down and reflect on our blessings.

How can counselling help?

Counselling is a powerful tool which facilitates the client into taking more control of their lives in a number of ways.   Perhaps focussing on their limiting beliefs (I can't do this, and I can't do that) and then eliminating them, also counselling sessions 'allow' the client to slow down, take stock and not allow their fearful thoughts to overwhelm them.  We all have inner voices in our head which regularly talk to us and tells us all about what might happen, what might go wrong, get us to over-analyse information and take too much on board. Counselling is fabulous in getting us to slow down and rationalise in a more appropriate manner.

Can anyone have counselling for stress? 

Absolutely, a good counsellor talk to the client about their anxiety and stress, where it stems from and then work through with a client a plan of action to reduce this stress to a manageable level.  Putting the client in charge is the desired end result.

Should people be worried about coming to counselling?

Counselling is about building rapport and trust with a client and to work with them.  A calm and open approach will help a client to feel relaxed.

Can the benefits of counsellling be long-term or does someone have to have regular sessions?

The benefits can be long term, but will depend on the clients desire to take control, and more importantly maintain it and will vary from client to client. An initial session assess the client's need from which the counsellor will talk through options around number of sessions and offer regular reviews as therapy progresses.

Can you teach people techniques to do themselves at home when they feel stressed?

Absolutely.  There are some great techniques that can be called upon to help.

At what point would you suggest someone ought to seek medical help for their stress?

As part of a consultation we would take a detailed medical history from the client and one of those questions would be whether they had sought medical help.  Stress is quite hard to evaluate, as what is stressful to one person may not be to another.  If a client was feeling completely helpless and were experiencing severe physical symptoms I would talk this through with the client and would suggest they get a check up from their GP to see if there are any underlying medical conditions that may be affecting their thought patterns or behaviour.