The Rise and Resilience: How Counselling is Like Baking Sourdough

Many people find counselling confusing. Sourdough baking can seem just as hard. Both involve patience and a bit of mystery.

But what if they are actually quite similar? Learning about yourself in counselling is a lot like baking perfect sourdough bread.

1. The Starter: Your Inner Self

Every good sourdough starts with an active starter. It's alive, unique, and needs regular care.

In counselling, you are the starter. You bring your past, your experiences, your strengths, and your feelings. Sometimes you feel slow, sometimes very active, sometimes neglected. Your counsellor helps you understand your own ingredients. They help you care for yourself so you can grow strong.

2. Kneading: Facing Hard Things

Baking sourdough means a lot of kneading and stretching the dough. This builds strength in the bread. It can be messy and tiring.

Counselling has its "kneading" parts too. This is when you work through tough feelings, bad habits, or past hurts. It can feel uncomfortable or even exhausting. But like kneading dough, this process makes you stronger inside. It builds the structure you need to grow.

3. Fermentation: Patience and Trust

This is the most important part of sourdough: the long, slow rise. You let the dough sit, often overnight. You can't rush it. You learn to watch for small changes and trust the process.

In counselling, fermentation happens between sessions. It's about letting new ideas sink in. It's about trying new ways of doing things. It's about letting emotions settle at their own pace. Counselling, like sourdough, teaches us to respect natural growth. We learn that good things take time. You trust that even when you're not doing much, inner work is happening.

4. Scoring: Showing Your True Self

Before baking, you cut patterns into the dough. This helps the bread expand well in the oven. It creates a beautiful crust.

Counselling helps you "score" your own life. You learn your unique patterns. You understand where you might struggle. You find healthy ways to express yourself. It's about guiding your own growth, so your true self can shine.

5. Baking: Change Under Pressure

The dough goes into a hot oven. The heat makes it rise and transform into a great loaf.

The "bake" in counselling is when you see real change in your life. It's when you use what you've learned in real situations. It's when you react differently to stress. It's when you find clarity. This shows that all your hard work has paid off.

6. The Loaf: A Unique, Strong You

Every sourdough loaf is special. Its taste and texture tell a story of its ingredients and care.

The "loaf" you create through counselling is a more authentic, strong, and balanced you. You won't be "perfect," but you'll be whole and capable. You'll be able to nurture your own life and those around you. You'll learn to appreciate all the unique parts of who you are becoming.

So, if counselling seems hard, think of it like baking. It takes effort and patience. But the result? A deeply nourishing, resilient, and uniquely beautiful creation: you.