Is counselling expensive?

[FelicityMintcake]

Just wondered really. I don't hear people talk ablut having had it in rl but on here it is mentioned sometimes. Is it helpful?

I'm finding it incredibly helpful. I pay £50 for 1 1/4 hours. My H is finding it helpful too and he pays £40 per hour.

Yes it is! You do need a counsellor you can trust - sometimes it might be necessary to try a couple of different ones. Fees in the UK vary from about £40 an hour to about £120. You have the right to some counselling on the NHS (six sessions? not sure) though waiting lists are long. Talking to your GP is a good start anyway.

Ah ok, many thanks!

Just parents/family stuff that I can't seem to stop upsetting myself over. They aren't going to change and I need to find a way to live with it.

I believe Mind offers sliding-scale counselling, as do a few other organisations. Even some individual counsellors do sliding-scale.

Thanks NQC. May I ask, does 'sliding scale' mean a sort of variable fee?

ask GP - some sessions free on NHS - also locally there may be charities etc ofering free or sliding scale. try MIND.

How do you find a good counsellor? I normally ask friends for recommendations (accupunturist, chiropractor etc) but feel somewhat reluctant for counselling.
There is a 7/8 month NHS waiting list in my area!

sliding scale does generally mean variable according to what you can afford.

I think normal prices are about £40 for an hour (bearing in mind that a counselling "hour" is usually 50-55 minutes).

It used to be that you only get 6 sessions on the NHS, and it was nearly always CBT but I have been hearing that other types of counselling are also available on the NHS and they tend to need more sessions than 6 to achieve anything.

Try contacting your primary care trust to see what they allow in your area.

For recommendations - tricky one because even if your best mate likes one counsellor, you might not gel with them yourself and a lot depends on you having a level of ease with your counsellor.

Lots of places do it free or sliding scale though there may be a waiting list (if you're a woman try women's centres).

Some counsellors also offer a free or low-cost first session to see if you like it/them.

Some offer greatly reduced rates for people who can't afford it (I benefited from this while I was training so I now keep 3 slots a week free for people who can't afford it) - so don't be afraid to ask.

Again I would say first stop should be your GP - I got all my counselling free at my local GP surgery. It has honestly changed my life for the better.

If a referral is not forthcoming or available, MIND and other organisations should be your next port of call.

Do not be put off if they have waiting lists - however long the waiting list, believe me you will still need counselling as a miraculous cure is unlikely to happen on it's own in the meantime. The time will fly by in any case, modern busy life and all that.

I am my second set of therapy, via the gp and free on the nhs. I have had counselling at the surgery too.
I have never had to wait too long.

The good thing about going via the gp is that they are interested in the whole family...my dc's are getting help too, via the schools. There can more easily be a mult agency approach, if that is necessary/beneficial.

Also, the nhs is motivated by people getting better, and in the long term, not by profits, and drugs. That's not to say that private therapy is bad, just that the motivation of the nhs is to get you better, fast.

How on earth do you raise it with the gp though?

I feel a fool to admit that at 45 with 3 dc of my own, my parent's behaviour has such a terrible effect on me I feel sick and ill all the time when they're acting up and edgy till they kick off again. They are very domineering.

I'm scared they'll say what I think myself. That I should get a grip and stand up to it, but that's easier said than done where my family are concerned.

To find a qualified and accredited counsellor/psychotherapist in your area look at the link below. Don't just look in Yellow Pages etc as there are some charlatans out there. Most counsellors worth their salt will discuss what you can afford to pay.

www.bacp.co.uk

Definitely use the link www.bacp.co.uk
Don't use anyone who is not BACP accredited as this is the gold-standard counselling body in the UK- I know- I have several friends who are counsellors.

Felicity - the GP, if they are any good at all, will NOT tell you to get a grip. You are still at the mercy of old fashioned thinking yourself there. People of all ages can need counselling - the only thing in your case is that it has taken you that much longer to work out that you could do with it.

If you do get a GP who tells you any such thing, demand to see another one, who has moved into the 21st Century with the rest of us!

Felicity, psychological/emotional hangovers from childhood most commonly arise in the mid-forties. I was 45 when I started, too
Good luck!

Thankyou so much. I hadn't thought to start at the GP.

BABCP is not the only accreditation body
also BABCP, UKCP and BARST for instance

sorry, mistake, should have started...BACP is not the only..