Counselling

[newbs16]

Please could I ask what kind of things are dealt with when taking part in counselling sessions.





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[biscuits]

Hi newbs

I had to go to an initial meeting first with the lady in charge. She asked me about what I’d like to gain from the sessions and what I was trying to cope with etc. At the time I was making myself ill from not eating. In that session she talked through some strategies (breathing exercises and helping me to feel able to eat) and the sorts of therapies they could offer. Then she told me she would match me with a counsellor that she thought would be the best match.

After that I’d go to weekly sessions for an hour. I went for probably four or five months.

We would discuss the events of the week and ideas for how I could socialise. Then we’d discuss how I was feeling about it, my worries, how it went, what was holding me back etc.

In a way, you sort of discuss the things you’d like to explore and alternative ways of thinking about things and come up with next steps and how to move forward, as well as strategies to manage anxiety. They sort of steer you in the right direction. The aim was to give the skills and strategies to help continue moving forward.

[newbs16]

^ Thank you for your reply biscuits, the charity do counselling sessions but the waiting list is pretty long which may be quicker than getting help on the NHS.

Sounds like it was hopeful for you, which is great news <3

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[biscuits]

The charities sometimes offer longer courses of sessions than the NHS, which is a bonus waiting is hard when you need support. The charities sometimes give an initial appointment and then put you on the waiting list.

How far along are you with the process? Have you applied?

I've been trying to get something sorted but it's tricky because things are always when I'm at work. I was going to go to a group therapy but read countless bad reviews about the provider :/

[Mr. Nobody]

My experience was on a par with biscuits,

Initial meeting to discuss what your main issues are,
(with someone I naively imagined would be my counsellor )
Presumably, during this first meeting you are assessed and triaged in some way in terms of needs and priorities.
Then, it's a bit of a waiting game, ...which can be frustrating,
as there is inevitably a bit of a waiting list
I was naively thinking things would go quicker than they did,

The NHS counsellor appointed to me didn't quite work out, but I did find a charity project type situation and lucked-out with quite a bit of decent free counselling,

During that, I basically just talked about how I felt and what I felt my issues were,
And similar to above, the counsellor suggested alternative explanations and improvements and strategies to change,

One thing that always struck me was that I had been good at avoiding and being dismissive of my issues,...for a long time,
But, when counselling started, I realised (to my horror, lol) that I now had to confront everything full-on....

[Shy_pretty_Angela]

Was there a long wait for counselling?