does counceling help?

[megandsoph]

just wondered as i'm off to see one on thursday and would like some imput if poss on what usually happens and if they really do help deal with issues...

aand also could anyone tell me what the difference is with pycologist and councellors (sp?)

TIA

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I found it a relief to talk to somebody but of course you get no answers from a counsellor they are not there to judge and give the answers. I found that a bit frustration. If for depression i just found time healed. (took me two years) We are all different though.

thanks both of you

I think the thing you just mentioned LSW regarding the "no advice" will annoy me too

I'm looking for a proffesional to help me understand and help me work through things that are getting to me badly at the moment that happened in my past.

I was diagnosed at 17 with clinical depression, I mangaed for a while to control it and DD's were the biggest med at the time along with AD's but it has recently come back big time and think now i'm an adult I have to take responsabilty for the girls to get this sorted.

I'm wondering if it's psychotherepy that would help [confused emoticon)

I think they give you psychotherapy as the last resort. counselling is the softly way of advancing you. If you feel no benefit then ask your GP to be referred to psychotherapist. They do tend to categorise you and I beleive (maybe wrong here) but they may put you on mental health register which aint nice

I think I will give this a try then first thanks hun

I had some counselling for depression in combination with ADs and it worked for me. However I kind of felt that it was me that did all the hard work - which is probably the intent, and is in itself helpful as it can start to lift your esteem, if you feel you are helping yourself. I treated it very seriously - the counsellor helped me set myself some targets and issues to work through, difficult to see that as a possibility when you're right at the bottom, I know - but if you want to help yourself, counselling can help. good luck.

thanks hatstand

HI megandsoph,
Sorry to hear of your situation, hope I?m not too late with this answer. It can be a bit confusing, but there are lots of types of counsellor. On your first meeting and as part of the assessment they should outline the type of method?s that they use (it might also be useful to ask what their professional qualifications are?) and what you might expect. Counsellors can be non-interventionist (dependent on what they believe in, more likely to have come from certain schools of psychotherapy) and or offer more concrete help (like CBT, cognitive behavioural therapy). It very much depends on their style/training and also the reason you are seeking help.
The unfortunate thing is that at the moment anyone can call themselves a counsellor although there are two awarding bodies BACP and CPCAB for qualifications. Both have web sites and the BACP one is good as it explains stuff for people considering seeking counselling. The acceptation to this rule is if you manage to get to see a counselling psychologist or clinical psychologist (it?s the psychologist bit that is important as you can only call yourself a psychologist if you have been through the formal training as set by the British Psychological Association). However as psychologist generally work for the nhs they are often very busy and its hard to get a referral to them?.Psychologist?s are trained from what they call an evidence-based perspective, which basically means that they use methods and interventions that have been ?tested? scientifically and ?proven? to be effective.
I think that the right type of counselling is extremely beneficial. It goes way beyond what AD?s can do. BUT there are two things I think are important, firstly its key to find the right person with the right approach, there have been lots of studies to show that the outcome for therapy is effected by the quality of the client/therapist relationship. Secondly, it?s hard?. (sounds scary but its hard in appositive way) it can be difficult and you really have to work at it. And lastly, it can also take a long time (once a week for a year is not uncommon depending on your circumstance).
Perhaps (if your willing)you could let us know a little of your circumstance, as you might be better suited to oen type over another.
Hope this is in some way helpful and isn?t making things more complicated. Let me know if you want any more info?
Kind regards,
Hettie