To hide this from my mum

[laplace]

I'm in my early twenties, and I am currently living with my mum and younger sibling. I have been seeing a counsellor (not in a counselling capacity, but the person I've been talking to is a trained counsellor) for the past six months or so. I've been talking to them about painful experiences I've had in my life. I haven't told my mum that I've been meeting with this person, because I don't want to have to go into the causes of the pain with her. My mum and I are close, but we don't have that kind of emotional closeness where I'd be comfortable talking to her about it.

I feel guilty for hiding it from her. Part of me wants to tell her, to explain how kind the person I've been talking to has been, but at the same time I don't think she'd understand my pain. What do you think?

[Jackshouse]

I’m a bit confused about talking to a counsellor in a non counselling capacity. This sounds very unprofessional of them, what do you mean?

[laplace]

I mean that the person is a family friend who happens to be trained as a counsellor. I'm not seeing them as a counsellor, but it just happens to be helpful for me because obviously they have those skills even when they're not working. We've just been meeting in coffee shops and they've just been listening to me really.

[Jackshouse]

As a trained counsellor then they should know that this is good.

[whatsnewchoochoo]

Well then surely you're not hiding anything from your mum? You're meeting a family friend for coffee - that's all that's happening?