Feminist rehab/counselling?

[rehab2019x]

NC for this. I have been through A LOT of counselling and it has kept me alive. Now I need more, but I just cannot bear access another counsellor that doesn't get living under the patriarchy. I need rehab to deal with the booze and fags that keep me going and a counsellor that can help me to let them go and still cope with the women hating system that we live in. Help.

I want counseling for a particular issue I'm dealing with. But It's totally and utterly pointless if the counselor isn't a feminist so I'd never go through the NHS. I've found a charity that might help with my particular circumstances but when I call they're always busy. Maybe you could google feminist counseling but don't know if it exists or if it's be fake, imagine if you got a transwoman wanting his identity validated

Sakura thank you for replying. I have googled but nothing doing. So frustrating!

Oh OP I am so sorry I was coming on to say I had heard of a famous place like that in London going since the 1970s but just looked it up and it has closed. What a scandal. islingtontribune.com/article/cash-crisis-forces-closure-of-renowned-holloway-womens-therapy-centre

Have you tried asking one of the official bodies like this group: www.psychotherapy.org.uk/find-a-therapist/
You can tick a pull-down box here for ‘gender’
I guess that may be modern code for women’s issues.

Word of mouth always good though so if you have any women’s groups locally they may be able to pass on a few local contacts to you to investigate?

Good luck OP, I hope you find someone.

I'm in London and you'd think that would be the best place for therapy but you can only get it if you pay for it.
I was paying £60 per session with an absolutely amazing feminist Scandinavian woman. She was great. They are out there, but I couldn't afford it after a while. I still miss her.

On the NHS all I could get was CBT with completely rubbish young inexperienced "therapists" with no real life experience.

As PP have said, you could contact a reputable professional body and ask their advice - UKCP or BACP. There are women’s therapy centres, staffed by women only, run for women and with a strong feminist ethos. Accessing their services usually means a waiting list though. I would hope the majority of therapists were on-side with feminism as part of human rights, and if ‘auditioning’ a private therapist I think it would be legitimate to tell them this is an important issue for you and to ask where they stand.

I'm both a feminist and a counsellor and depending on the clients needs work with them in that way. We are out there. I second the previous posters suggestion of the BACP or looking at the Counselling Directory. You'll be able to see the counsellors profiles and contact them with any questions you have

Thanks for your replies. Wilhelmina I have looked on BACP but 'feminist' does not appear any any of the profiles. Is there another way of identifying this?

Oh OP I am so sorry I was coming on to say I had heard of a famous place like that in London going since the 1970s but just looked it up and it has closed. What a scandal. islingtontribune.com/article/cash-crisis-forces-closure-of-renowned-holloway-womens-therapy-centre

I cannot say how relieved I am that that awful place has closed.

I experienced very abusive therapy from a therapist connected to it and over the years have met many women who developed false memories of childhood sexual abuse from therapists there.

The founder Susie Orbach is one of the main advocates of conspiracy theories re satanic ritual abuse in the UK.

OP

I am sorry you are struggling with alcohol and tobacco. Addictions are very tough to overcome, possibly more so when the drugs are legal and easy to obtain.

Unfortunately it is very difficult to find good therapists and counsellors these days.

If you are struggling with an ongoing alcohol problem this would be something that you would be best to seek help for prior to starting any counselling or therapy as substance misuse can make the counselling process difficult for all kinds of reasons.

I am wondering whether you need some holding and support to get you through the initial period of dealing with your drinking prior to starting counselling?

Also most therapists do not disclose too much about their own perspectives of the world, as the whole idea is to try not to influence the client, but to try to understand their inner, unconscious world.

I would suggest consulting your GP for support re your drinking and smoking in the first instance.

I suspect that you are smoking and drinking to try to push down painful thoughts (something I have done myself in the past) and that you are aware that when you stop or cut down that the feelings will overwhelm you.

It is incredibly courageous to become aware that you have a problem and to start to think about how to stop and get better.

Finding the right therapist or counsellor is incredibly important and should not be rushed into.

May I ask whether you are well supported in your life by friends and family? Do you have peers and / or friends who are on the same journey as you or who have struggled with the same issues?

I am asking because what you will very much need are supporting people around you who can be kind and understanding and who can listen.

A good counsellor is priceless but they are not a magic wand.

I think you may need a peer support group (and given your OP it should be a women's support group) in the first instance. If one does not exist in your area then maybe you could ask your GP for help in setting on up?

Re the UKCP and the BACP - I have extensive experience of dealing with both of these organisations. There are good people involved with them them but unfortunately they have been infiltrated by the woke to an alarming degree.

Various controversial persons known to readers of this forum have risen to positions of prominence inside these and other accrediting organisations.

I wish I could be of more help. I have been in a horrifying situation myself when deeply traumatised and when all the mental health services offered to me were compromised.

I just wondered about the counselling you had before. Could your previous counsellor/s offer you some guidance?

Sorry I cannot be of more help and wishing you well

That's the problem isn't it. Psychiatry and psychology are both rooted in misogynistic practices that they are best avoided. A good example is marriage counseling which doesn't take patriarchy into consideration , and might offer porn as a solution to regaining intimacy etc we know a lot about the way poor trans widows have been treated by professionals.
Counsellors just utterly oblivious to the female condition.
So the person you're speaking to really has to have an understanding of women's issues before you should even bother going. And then what if they don't anyway, but just say they do? It's a minefield.
That being said I'm sure the right feminist counselor can be very helpful, like the Scandinavian one mentioned

Have you got any sort of women's centre near you? Even if they don't provide counseling they may provide one-to-one support our groups that women may find just as good or even better than counseling (from experience of working with them). I have a counselor who is feminist, she didn't advertise herself as such but her website talked about how she'd worked with women and trauma (though lots of counsellors say they work with trauma and have little idea).

If you need rehab I'd recommend one that uses AA principles. I celebrated 30 years sober in April and I owe it entirely to AA. It's not gendered. All alcoholics follow the same path.