Counselling assessment

[MySpideySenseTickles]

I've got my referral through for counselling it's not for over a month but I'm going into a panic already, what will happen? Will they want to ask me loads of akward questions?
The letter came this afternoon and I've had a ball of panic in my chest ever since I'm trying not to let it overwhelm me because I had a panic attack the other night and when I rang the gp about it she said I might have more and to try to stay calm but I'm fighting the urge to cancel the appointment but I've waited a long time to get the courage upto get referred for it.

Don't cancel the appointment, whatever you do. Counsellors are really good at helping you to feel comfortable enough to talk. What I do for a first session is to type up everything about me that I think the counsellor should know, and give it to him/her to read. That way you don't have to sit there and straight away talk about all of it and she gets some information base on which she can start the conversation with you. Good luck.

Don't worry, they will not pressure you, they will go at your pace. You don't have to answer anything you don't want to. They are there to help you deal with how you feel - and if how you feel is very nervous and not able to talk about things, that is ok. They can start with that and will probably just try and chat more generally and put you at your ease. Tell them you're a bit nervous and worried about dealing with questions, you will be in control of how it goes.

Will they think I'm wasting their time if I can't talk about some things?

Well done for taking the first step. Ive had several counselling sessions. Usually the assessment follows a set of questions and there isnt much specifics or probing. I have been asked to fill in questions in advance too. So the assessment session is more about ensuring you are paired up with the right counsellor and getting suitable therapy. Its nothing to worry sbout

They will not make you talk about anything you don't want to.

No they won't think that, and they may be able to help you think about ways to make talking about these things possible or easier. But you won't have to at all. I hope though, that if you get a counsellor you feel at ease with then you might in time be able to share anything you think it could be helpful to talk about. Don't worry about that now though, that can all be considered in time. You can always say - I do have a problem in that area which I would like to address but don't feel able to talk about it quite yet. That's fine, it is part of the process I think.