Tips for getting through counselling

[cheesychipsfan]

I'm having counselling for depression/anxiety/c-ptsd and on Monday during my last session he told me that next Monday we would have to start talking about what I've been putting off. Im really not ready for it and Monday I just clammed up and couldn't speak. He's pushing to go into on next week and I'm already thinking of making an excuse because I can't bring myself to talk about it. Has anyone got any tips on how I can get myself ready for it? My anxiety is through the roof. Thanks 😊

You know you have to go through uncomfortable feelings but it will be worth it. They're not going to be anything like the actual situation(s) you went through originally and you managed to get through that.

Think positive, you can do this. It won't hurt anywhere near as much as you imagine it will. You've been through the worst and now you're a survivor, make sure you give yourself credit for all the hard work you've already done.

Counselling should be at your pace and not follow your therapists agenda. I wouldn’t agree with this approach at all, (I’m a psychotherapist btw)
You need to find a therapist more in tune with you and more receptive to your fears

I'm also a therapist and also don't feel comfortable with a therapist pushing this if you're not ready. It's really really normal and common to find talking about trauma extremely hard, I would say the therapist should be helping you with feeling ready. If you feel comfortable with him I would talk to him about this to see what the alternatives there are, if you don't feel comfortable with him I would look for another therapist if you can?

Another therapist agreeing with the two other therapists here and disagreeing with your therapist!

The point of couselling is that you talk about what is bothering you, the other person listens and together you eventually come up with a plan to help you to deal with things.

I started counselling a few weeks ago, for anxiety and depression. I've suffered with both for 30 years. I've always resisted the suggestion of any type of therapy, but have been on ATs for many years.

I sat sobbing and feeling pathetic for pretty much the whole of the 1st session. The 2nd time, cried but chatted a lot too. This week, I chatted for the whole hour (she offered suggestions about why I feel like this and she gave me scenarios about what would happen if I did/didn't do such and such. I didn't cry at all. Now, when I go next week (4th time), I know I can compose myself and start thinking about positive outcomes.

Take the 1st step, you may be surprised about how well you get on.

Not ATs, I mean Antidepressants

Not a therapist but completely agree that you move at the pace you feel is safe for you. Pushing you to address things when you're not ready could worsen your mental health, don't feel you have to talk about anything you're not ready to.

Thank you all for the reply's it's much appreciated. I've never had therapy before so wasn't sure what to expect tbh but I'm not at all comfortable with him to the point I dread Mondays coming. I did speak to a friend and she said that it should be at your own pace and not the therapists. I've had 6 out of 8 sessions because he's cancelled two last minute. In the first session I did try to go into it a bit and he cut me off and said that we wasn't doing that today and that we was going to focus more on my panic attacks and now he's given me a weeks notice of what we will be delving into next week and ive been on edge all week thinking about it. It's nhs therapy so I didn't get to choose anyone I was just given to him and get these weekly video calls.

You need a new therapist!

NHS therapy providers, ime, are generally quite good about you asking to see someone else. You don't need to go into specifics if you don't want to.

It is absolutely crucial that anyone dealing with ptsd/cptsd is comfortable with their therapy sessions and trusts their therapist.

P.s. that isn't too say therapy isn't hard at times, and when working through trauma it can get worse before it gets better but that is exactly why you need to comfortable with your therapist and the sessions you have. And they should absolutely respect your boundaries.

Whatever the pressures on the NHS, your trauma is not a box ticking exercise.

Realistically, if you've only got two sessions left, you're going to need them to refer you on to a more appropriate service. Sadly NHS IAPT is largely a box ticking exercise, which does not help those with more deep rooted issues.