Is therapy / counselling any use?

[Smartleatherbag]

Hi, I've long term mh issues, was fine for ten years but got ill a year ago and just on the mend now.
I got some counselling on NHS but only for a small number of sessions as they are stretched. My cpn agrees it is nowhere near enough so I've started looking for a private therapist.
However I feel it's a waste of time. Can't be bothered with the whole thing. Is it worth pursuing?

[SilverStars]

It is worth it if you want it and work at it. It cannot change life's circumstances and losses sadly but depending on reasons why do therapy then can help for eg change negative thinki patterns, cope with difficult situations etc etc.

[Smartleatherbag]

Thanks Silver, my concern is that I am not willing to give it much, iykwim? I've had therapy before and it helped but I feel that, like you say, it's not going to change things. I think I'll probably just be depressed for life, on and off. I think that it'll probably kill me, I just want to hang on till my kids are a bit older.

[DareGreatly]

Didn't want to read and run but . For what it's worth, I think give it a go. All therapists will be different and you may find the next one you see you'll really benefit from.

[MinceSpy]

If you were referred to me and during your initial appointment you expressed that you felt that counselling would wouldn't help I'd help you explore that. If you said you couldn't be bothered and you weren't prepared to give it a go I'd decline to work further with you as it would be a waste of your time and money.

[AShiningTiger]

Smart, it will not change THINGS, it may change how you see things. Or it may jot. Or it may for a while. Something you will learn from it and that is often a good thing. What have you got to lose?
Please do try. We have lost someone a few weeks ago becauseshe could not see a way out and thought, probably, that her children, now older as you say, would be better off without her. I wish you could have seen them at the funeral, and all the people who loved her.

Please give it a go. The worst that can happen is you stay as you are. It helped me a lot. Not the first therapist, nor the second, but the third. i went for two years. I didnot see the effects immediately. In fact every single week I thought I could use the mobey elsewhere. But at the end of every session I felt a bit lighter even after a sad/bad/hard/frustrating one. I stopped last Jan and believe me the effects are still felt today.
If you have bavk pain you might go to a chyropractor and you will not be 'fixed' immediately, in fact you probably won't be. But you'll make sense of the pain, its origin and how to manage it.
It is the same thing, just the pain is in your... Head? Heart? Soul?

Please. Please. Give yourself a chance.

[Smartleatherbag]

Thanks for your replies, very much appreciated.
I'll have a chat with dh today and be honest, take it from there.

[Snog]

I would recommend to Try a few different therapists to find the one you want to work with

[fivecupsoftea]

I've been seeing a therapist for 6 months. It has been life changing for me. I thought I'd always have my sadness inside me, but I feel somehow different. But it's been really hard, I've experienced a lot of anger and emotion since I started, its been incredibly hard to carry on, I think about stopping all the time, I kind of force myself to go and to say hard things. I think there must be a lot of brilliant therapists and some not so good. I'm sought of unsure which my therapist is which probably sounds ridiculous considering what I say about feeling different. Its really not an easy process.

[Kittykat7]

I think counselling has it's place but for me it hasn't helped. I've seen 2 counsellors, 6 psychologists & 2 psychiatrists. I never feel that any one has done any actual work with me. I can't change my past as I had a bad childhood. My parents died when I was a baby, I had abusive foster parents & ended up with major depression & anorexic. The only thing that had helped me is medication. It's hard when you only get a set number of sessions & then your time is up. I feel I just scratch the surface with my issues & I'm then left hanging with all the feelings & don't know how to move forward.
I think it does help speaking to someone neutral but finding the right person to gel with is hard. Out of all the people I saw there were 5 that I knew straight away I wasn't comfortable with. You can only try & give it a few sessions to see his you feel. I think my issues are just too complicated so I have to give up now.