Counselling options?

[r3dh3d]

DH, like most men, isn't handling DD1's issues as well as I am. And she's nearly 6 now so I don't think he's going to work it out on his own.

How do you go about getting counselling for this sort of thing? And is it any good?

Hi r3d...
I've chatted with you before on occassion;- hope dd is ok, and you too! First thing, it's great that you are thinking about yr DH's feelings, and recognising that some of us find it harder than others. I had similar issues with DP-although I was less than sympathetic, his answer was heavy drinking which resulted in us splitting up; not the fairytale scenario but, nevertheless we're all friends now.

As for counselling,I got some, and I found it was helpful. I cried a lot, but at least it was an outlet. I got some free counselling from mind paid for by our 'sure start' people, but I did find that when DS got to school age, they couldn't help anymore. Where I live (Hackney) there's a carer's centre, which offers counselling; You can ask your GP too, although you might have to wait.

Now, with my DS about the same age as your DD I would talk to our community paed, the local parents' support groups, or even the local Child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) who might advise you aboiut counselling.

Your DH might prefer a parent support group, or just going out for a few beers with someone with similar experiences...
is there anyone on here living near you?
good luck!
x

can be quite hit and miss but def worth looking into I reckon. You have option of getting referral from gp or going private. Dyou have a local carers centre that could advise? Or a helpful sw perhaps?

I have had mixed experiences with this. Good counsellor makes it all look and feel rather easy.. till you experience a shit one

agree with Lauree that peer support can be a good thing. However there's no way in the world my dh would go for a drink with some other dad in similar siutaion knowing or suspecting I'd set it up.. so I found going out as a couple, leaving em to it and volunteering to be the sober driving one worked best ;)

Hi, don't know how you would feel about this suggestion, but we had some family psychotherapy (we all went) as part of the service offered by the Child Development Centre--this was mainly because DS was having some issues adjusting to being a big brother with a sn sister, but they also see families/individuals..

You can find out more about counselling generally here British Assn for Counselling and Psychotherapy