Councelling/Therapy

miserable_2

Alleycat wrote: »

Oh, reading this has me worried now! My Health Visitor has referred me to counselling for PND and I have filled in the form, just waiting for a reply.

Don't know if I can wait much longer to deal with it all. What if you need help sooner??

Hi i wasnt diagnosed with PND because i didnt reject my baby and the health visitor made it out like its only PND if u reject your baby. But i was seriously down, and very moody and it ended up breaking up my relationship with the father, we re now back together, but im still getting upset alot etc etc, ive had councelling which i was referred by health visitor and GP in the april, and didnt get my first NHS councelling session until sept so thats how long you have to look at waiting, and no its usually rather late by that point, id gone through the worst part of being in tears all the time over different things. but i was still down when i got my sessions. I had 6 sessions of 30mins through my work, and he was a complete waste of space, just sat there going and how did that make you feel, useless. the nhs one was alot nicer and more comfortable to speak to. but again the sessions were very rushed, and at the end of it all i really dont feel like it helped me in any way. your just on a conveyor belt, and now im back to square one again another 6months down the line

mae

m00c0w04 wrote: »

Yeah around the £35 mark per session. I am a student and my college does offer a councelling service but I wouldn't put money on the fact that it was anyone who was qualified for the job. If a GP prescribed me a counselor I'm assuming it would be someone who is qualified?

The counselling offered in most colleges now is by a fully qualified experienced counsellor, they sometimes also recruit along this person people who are still training but they will be at a late stage in their training and they wil be well monitored. With colleges now it is all about funding and keeping bums on seats so if they provide counselling for their students they are hoping it will stop them leaving due to traumas in their personal life.
I am a counsellor at a college and we provide an excellent very experienced service and we have counselled issues ranging from abuse, relationship problems, family problems, debt, anger, panic attacks and the list goes on. We have statisitics to prove the service really works and is very valid so please don't under estimate free counselling services in colleges.

bestpud

mae wrote: »

The counselling offered in most colleges now is by a fully qualified experienced counsellor, they sometimes also recruit along this person people who are still training but they will be at a late stage in their training and they wil be well monitored. With colleges now it is all about funding and keeping bums on seats so if they provide counselling for their students they are hoping it will stop them leaving due to traumas in their personal life.
I am a counsellor at a college and we provide an excellent very experienced service and we have counselled issues ranging from abuse, relationship problems, family problems, debt, anger, panic attacks and the list goes on. We have statisitics to prove the service really works and is very valid so please don't under estimate free counselling services in colleges.

I wouldn't have thought universities would take the risk of employing under qualified staff to be fair. Surely they would be leaving themselves open to all sorts of problems?

My experience of uni counselling has been fantastic. In fact, I know I'd have dropped off my course by now without her and the difference it has made to my non-course related life is just way beyond anything I imagined possible!

If you are worried about the cost, why not go along to your uni counsellors and ask what them about their experience/qualifications etc? I can't imagine any legitimate counsellor would mind this at all - and it's something you should always check anyway, before you hand over money.

At present there is no requirement to have qualifications so someone could legally offer a private service after completing a 3 week basic counselling course! I would hope those working in universities would at least have been vetted?

Check out the BCAP website as they list members who have taken accredited training, will have experience etc. and should follow guidelines for good practice. THere are of course very good counsellors who may not be listed on here but it's a starting point at least and will let you know what you should be looking for..

In my experience of counselling though, the relationship you have with the counsellor is far more important than the years they have been doing the job!

Go and have a chat with your uni service - they are probably fairly quiet this time of year - and get a feel for it. There is no obligation so you may as well try an initial session?

Good luck!

bestpud

I might add that I have read research somewhere (can't think where but mae may know?) which suggests students who access a counsellor at university obtain higher degrees, statistically, than those who don't.

Smashing

You haven't even tried the uni counsellor and you're writing them off already?

If you really want help you'll give it a fair go - they can always refer you on to other agencies if needs be.

mae

bestpud wrote: »

I wouldn't have thought universities would take the risk of employing under qualified staff to be fair. Surely they would be leaving themselves open to all sorts of problems?

My experience of uni counselling has been fantastic. In fact, I know I'd have dropped off my course by now without her and the difference it has made to my non-course related life is just way beyond anything I imagined possible!

If you are worried about the cost, why not go along to your uni counsellors and ask what them about their experience/qualifications etc? I can't imagine any legitimate counsellor would mind this at all - and it's something you should always check anyway, before you hand over money.

At present there is no requirement to have qualifications so someone could legally offer a private service after completing a 3 week basic counselling course! I would hope those working in universities would at least have been vetted?

Check out the BCAP website as they list members who have taken accredited training, will have experience etc. and should follow guidelines for good practice. THere are of course very good counsellors who may not be listed on here but it's a starting point at least and will let you know what you should be looking for..

In my experience of counselling though, the relationship you have with the counsellor is far more important than the years they have been doing the job!

Go and have a chat with your uni service - they are probably fairly quiet this time of year - and get a feel for it. There is no obligation so you may as well try an initial session?

Good luck!

Hi I just wanted to point out that at the college where I work there is one paid experienced and qualifed counsellor and she has other counsellors who are volunteers who are members of the BACP and are nearly qualified and the students who come for counselling are told they are still finishing their training but are at a safe level to practive and will be near the end of their 3 1/2 year training. So they are working under BACP guidelines and are working towards a high qualification.
I'm glad you had a good experience with uni counselling that is the service we aim to provide in our college very dedicated confidential professional service.

lynzpower

miserable wrote: »

Hi i wasnt diagnosed with PND because i didnt reject my baby and the health visitor made it out like its only PND if u reject your baby. But i was seriously down, and very moody and it ended up breaking up my relationship with the father, we re now back together, but im still getting upset alot etc etc, ive had councelling which i was referred by health visitor and GP in the april, and didnt get my first NHS councelling session until sept so thats how long you have to look at waiting, and no its usually rather late by that point, id gone through the worst part of being in tears all the time over different things. but i was still down when i got my sessions. I had 6 sessions of 30mins through my work, and he was a complete waste of space, just sat there going and how did that make you feel, useless. the nhs one was alot nicer and more comfortable to speak to. but again the sessions were very rushed, and at the end of it all i really dont feel like it helped me in any way. your just on a conveyor belt, and now im back to square one again another 6months down the line

I have had 3 different sorts of counselling & therapy.

1) private
2) from the uni in dealing with a particularly traumatic event
3) from work when coming to terms with my illness and losing ability to get to work .
- oops make that 4) I had some also from the NHS in terms of my illness as well.

I have also done some basic training in both person centred counselling and also cognitive behavioural therapy.

By far the best one for ME was CBT privately. the reason for this was
a) i got to pick my therapist.
b) I got to pick the times that suited me ( evenings) not slap bang in the middle of the day when Id have to make excuses for work
c) Cognitive behavioural therapy really suits me as a style. I came away from that experience a different person.

I personally dont find PC counselling that helpful, aside from the UNi one which was quite good in that it offered me sa space when due to something that happened at uni, I had no one I could confide in or talk to honestly.

I found the NHS one the worst - purely on the basis that it was time limited and time limited and person centred counselling tend not to go together philopsophically. the point of PC counselling is that the counsellor allows space to the reciever to explore for themselves and offer no guidance. this is what the poster above says is all that "how did you feel" a lot of people see this appraoch as a bit pointless, but as a student of it, I know the reason is to give the person time and space to come to thier own conclusions. this does not mesh well with a fixed number of sessions.

I know my ex went to counselling to deal with the impact of losing his dad, something he had never discussed with anyone for almost 10 years which had manifested itself as anger. 5 sessions for him didnt scratch the surface.

Heres a useful link about the differing types of approaches.
http://www.cox-associates.co.uk/glossary/therapy.php

Best wishes to all embarking on counselling or therapeutic interventions. I wish we were more like the US really, much more open about it all. It changed my life hugely and started me on a journeyt rto use those tools for greater growth both with myself and with others

Lynz
x

bestpud

lynzpower wrote: »

I personally dont find PC counselling that helpful, aside from the UNi one which was quite good in that it offered me sa space when due to something that happened at uni, I had no one I could confide in or talk to honestly.

I found the NHS one the worst - purely on the basis that it was time limited and time limited and person centred counselling tend not to go together philopsophically. the point of PC counselling is that the counsellor allows space to the reciever to explore for themselves and offer no guidance. this is what the poster above says is all that "how did you feel" a lot of people see this appraoch as a bit pointless, but as a student of it, I know the reason is to give the person time and space to come to thier own conclusions. this does not mesh well with a fixed number of sessions.

I know my ex went to counselling to deal with the impact of losing his dad, something he had never discussed with anyone for almost 10 years which had manifested itself as anger. 5 sessions for him didnt scratch the surface.

Best wishes to all embarking on counselling or therapeutic interventions. I wish we were more like the US really, much more open about it all. It changed my life hugely and started me on a journeyt rto use those tools for greater growth both with myself and with others

Lynz
x

Mmmm, that was the other thing I meant to mention - different types of counselling.

PC is the only one that works for me. I've worked long-term with a psychologist and now with a counsellor. The first allowed me to get out and particiapte in life and the second is helping me get on with that life to the best of my ability, if that makes sense.

For me personally, I have to come to my own conclusions and I need time to develop trust. I've found it's hard going for several months and then everything starts falling into place very quickly. I know I'd have got nowhere in a few weeks but then they are big issues. Having said that though, I know of someone who overcame a major issue in her life with six intensive sessions of CBT.

I wish we were more open about mental health issues in general - the level of ignorance and stigma still attached to any kind of psychological issues is shocking imo.

Cat72

mae wrote: »

The counselling offered in most colleges now is by a fully qualified experienced counsellor,
I am a counsellor at a college and we provide an excellent very experienced service and we have counselled issues ranging from abuse, relationship problems, family problems, debt, anger, panic attacks and the list goes on. We have statisitics to prove the service really works and is very valid so please don't under estimate free counselling services in colleges.

This is very true it is usually only very experienced counsellors that are at colleges and unis.
I have found the nhs to be useless -as there waiting listings are far too long- but there is no harm in anyone pressing their doctor to see a counsellor as each area is different.
Im training to be a counselor and to be fully qualified it is hard ! I have to go to counselling myself for my diploma but I go to a private counsellor who has been highily recommended.However I would also recommend a lot of charitable/voluntary organisations who offer very cheap or free counselling and who have counsellors with diplomas. A lot of them do really good work and have excellent standards.Again the bacp will provide names of counsellors but also have the names of larger organisations that offer cheap/free counselling .In scotland cosca also have information on counsellors & organisations & here is a link to some .The scottish marriage care organisation is also great and as are the crossreach centres in glasgow & edinburgh.