Counselling has certain ethics which a good psychologist must follow, have a good meaningful and correct approach to therapy. 

1. Beneficence: A psychologist must accept responsibility for promoting what is good for the client with the expectation that the seeker will benefit from the counselling sessions.
2. Nonmaleficence: “do no harm”. The psychologist must avoid at all times, (even inadvertently) any activities or situations with the seeker that could cause a conflict of interest.
3. Autonomy: The psychologist’s ethical responsibility to encourage seeker independent thinking and decision- making, and to deter all forms of client dependency.

A seeker has certain rights which have been made to safeguard their well-being, while in therapy. 

1. Respect: You have a right to be shown respect, dignity and consideration.
2. Communication: You have a right to be informed about services, treatment, options and costs in a clear, timely and open way in words you can understand.
3. Participation: You have a right to be included in decisions and choices about your care.
4. Privacy: You have a right to privacy and confidentiality of your personal information.
5. Comment: You have a right to comment on your care and to have your concerns addressed promptly and properly.

A single therapy session lasts anywhere between 45-60 minutes, depending on the therapist. Therapy as a whole process lasts for the whole period in general and can last anywhere from depending on the seeker’s need as well as the intensity of their concerns.

1. Avoid speaking on the person’s behalf. If there is a pause or delay before they communicate, wait for them to respond.
2. Avoid talking about complex emotional topics in their presence, especially in times of crisis. Avoid detailed conversation – they may find it confusing.  
3. Avoid assuming what they are thinking about, their wants or needs, even before they say so. Speak only for yourself. Listen to what they say, even if you do not agree with it.  
4. Avoid vague or unclear statements as these are difficult for them to interpret and understand.  
5. Avoid generalized comments such as, “He is useless”, “She can never do anything right” etc.
6. Talk with the person with mental illness and not about them. This reduces negative emotions like hostility and criticism in them. 

One should always try to provide a sense of reassurance to that person. Ask them how they are, what you could do to help them, what is it that they need right now? Always ask, listen and try to not assume and suggest. Let them know you are there if they need to reach out to you.

• ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
• ‘What might help you feel better?’ 
• ‘You’ll get through this. I shall be there with you.’
• ‘You’re strong. Even if you don’t feel that way right now.’

The words we use can affect not only us but others around us. ‘Choose your words wisely’ is a great way to start being inclusive in mental health. Language becomes an impredicative way of letting the other person know how you feel about a situation, and to offer support in a verbal sense can be very assuring for the ones who need it.

For the longest period, there was not enough importance or recognition given to mental health due to insufficient knowledge, wrong facts and stereotypes about this. People thought you were ‘pagal’ i.e had gone mad, only because there were treatments still developing to be able to help individuals with mental illness. This idea, unfortunately, stuck around through generations. 

It is, however, not at all and should not be a stigmatised topic. 

No. This is because Counselling/ Psychotherapy aims at helping clients be self-sufficient and contribute to their growth for the long run of their lives, and not a temporary relief.

You can choose to go for counselling if you wish to improve on certain areas of your life, without any problem, you can also opt for counselling. On the other hand, if you have been having difficulty in dealing with certain events and emotions and feel that it is interfering with your normal productivity, sense of self and may feel distant from your close ones, therapy/counselling would be helpful.