I think it depends on what type of counselling they practise. The counselling I really didn't appreciate was psychodynamic counselling where they do exactly what you described, Avalon, and reflect everything back to you, revealing nothing about themselves. It's quite strongly rooted in Freud so if your counsellor actually says anything to you, bexybear, you'll probably find she gets you to talk about your own childhood and will imply that any problems are due to whatever you experienced then.
In humanistic counselling they see the relationship between the counsellor and the client as very important, and I certainly find this a far more helpful approach.
There's some info on the BACP pages about different approaches. They often don't do this, but I think counsellors should explain their approach to clients before the sessions start. It seems clear to me that most people will benefit more from some approaches and less from others.
The BACP does suggest that "if you're not sure about the first counsellor you see, it is better to arrange to see another." I think often surgeries have more than one counsellor attached to them, so you could perhaps find out if it's possible to change?
also there are some really really useful self-help suggestions regarding PND on the netmums site here if you haven't seen it already. I personally find practical suggestions like these far better than sitting in a room in silence feeling uncomfortable.
Thinking of you, bexybear