Counselling for Adults

[secretsarebest]

I was adopted as a child and after thinking that I've coped with it I realise I definitely haven't and it has had a massive affect on my life.

I'm considering getting some counselling but am absolutely terrified about what it might bring up and how vulnerable I'll feel.

Has anyone been through counselling? How was it? Did you benefit from it? Do you regret it?

I've just emailed PAC to find out the services they offer but would appreciate hearing 'real' experiences.

Thanks very much.

I suspect you would benefit more from therapy than counselling. You also need to find someone who is experienced in adoption related issues I think.

Is bacp a good place to start?

I'm an adoptee, I had specialist adoption counselling and I found it extremely helpful .

I also found it useful to read books about adoption

Kristina how did you access adoption counselling? I've contacted PAC-UK but they don't do it anymore. When I looked at the counselling site recommended above I couldn't find any specific adoption ones. Adoption was lumped in with a list of other reasons for counselling.

I really need to get this right as I've realised how significantly my life has been affected by my adoption.

Thanks for replying.

Just started reading The Primal Wound. Scary stuff!

I went to an Adoption support service, which also had support groups for adoptees and birth family members. It was run by a national charity , but the service has closed down now

Sorry, I realise that's not very helpful . I agree that specific adoption cousellling is best , not just a general counsellor who has no training or experience in this area .

I see that PAc are still advertising their adult counselling service, which is not fair if they have stopped it .

www.pac-uk.org/our-service/adopted-adults/

I found this but I know nothing about them and they only work in London

www.asartcounselling.com

I contacted the Leeds office and they told me to contact my local authority adoption service to talk things through. I recognise (at last!) that I need far more than a chat. Thanks for taking the time to look.

Hi Secretsarebest, how is your search for support going? I'm in a similar boat to you as an adult adoptee of 39, help is difficult to find and I wonder whether your average counsellor would really scratch the surface of how we can sometimes feel. I hope you're getting somewhere and am sure it's worth persevering.

If you are still active check out this thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/site_stuff/2615209-Adult-Adoptees-Dedicated-Section-Under-Talk-Topics