My Lightbulb Moment

BKAT_9

Hi Pete, I had counselling a few years ago when I was going through a really bad time, I was referred through my GP and the sessions were free. However I have a friend that is having counselling now and has to pay for it all privately, I am not sure of the specifics of how it all got sorted out with my GP - they basically just arranged it all for me and I was seeing someone within the week. So maybe worth talking to your GP?

I know the feeling about not wishing to go back to flat share. My friend rented a 2 bedroom place and sub-letted the second bedroom to an acquaintance, I guess it was a bit safer as he did know the person. However this meant that although they were sharing my friend maintained some control, I know this sounds awful but I think it just made it an easir transition for him. Obviously you would need to check the agreement to make sure you werent doing anything illegal!

sparklystar_2

I would agree with BKAT that it is definately worth seeing if your GP can refer you for counselling from the NHS. Alternatively it might be worth considering whether you could manage with fewer sessions a month? Maybe discuss with your counsellor and see what they think. all the best.

orangesmartie

With regard to counselling, most companies have some kind of 'employee assistance scheme' where you can ring up and be referrewd for counselling. It doesn't cost anything and they are bound by confidentiality not to give your name to your employers- the return just states how many people have used the service. I've used my EAP twice for counselling services.

pete29

Thanks all for the advice re Counselling. Definitely some options to explore there, as it does cost a lot at the moment!

sickasachip13

Hey Pete

Hi and welcome. Well done on your LBM mine didn't come until I'd dug a much bigger hole of debt than yours, so good work :-)

On the counselling - could you get continued support through the NHS or some form of voluntary support / self-help group? I don't wish to sound callous or ill-informed, and please don't take this the wrong way as it's based on personal experience and knowledge of another friend who continued paying for counselling for years after it wasn't really needed anymore, but do you really need to continue counselling? It may be worth considering beginning to tail off the paid-for service?

Anyhow, best of luck and welcome.

SAAC13

Learning2Budget

Congratulations on your lbm, you will get lots of support on here! The only other thing i would suggest is keeping a spending diary, sometimes it's the little things that you fritter your money on that could be the biggest savings!
Good luck Pete, L2B.xx

pete29

sickasachip, you don't sound callous at all and I appreciate the support! It's something I have been thinking about- think I may need to have a chat with my councillor this week!

learning2budget. definitely a good idea. It was something I did for a while, so time to get back to it I think and see where the smaller amounts are leaking out :-)

sharronej

Hi Pete,

I had counselling a couple for years ago on the NHS - it was very enlightening and helped me hugely so I fully understand why you pay for this. I was allowed a total of 13 sessions either weekly, I found that fortnightly or even monthly worked better for me - gave me more time to consider what had been discussed and think about how I wanted to move forward (I'm sure you know the score) anyway the point I wanted to make is that the I was nervous about finishing the sessions (they were such a relief to me) but the counsellor said that you could continue in counselling forever and a day but that's not what it's designed for. Do you feel that you've reached the point where actually it's a way to let off steam rather than actually progressing to the point of 'closure' or whatever it's aim is? How much is it per hour? Could you perhaps half the number of hours in a month?

Do discuss it though because there's no point risking your mental health especially at a time where you've had your LBM.

Good luck

Soundgirlrocks

Hi just a thought but could you look at moving closer to work and cycling? rents in zone 4 would probably be roughy the same as you pay now but you would drastically reduce your travel cost plus get some exercise instead of still on the tube and you might even find it's quicker! - not that I'm a cycle convert or anything:rotfl::rotfl:

Butti

Hi Pete,

Well done on starting to tackle the debt.

I had counselling complemented with anti-depressants on the NHS a couple of years ago after being diagnosed with depression. That for me is the issue with counselling on the NHS, you have to have quite a strong justification because the taxpayer is paying for it....not sure whether the view would be taken that the breakdown / depression had already been dealt with.



I think a better option may be to reduce or remove it slowly. I always understood effective counselling to be a time fixed process. I would look at ways to at least wean your counselling time down. Like sharronej I had a fixed period of counselling. Mine focused on CBT and on identifying hot thoughts. During and since the counselling I have done a number of things to keep my head straight;

• keep a daily journal of thoughts and issues
• Running on a beach regularly
• Keeping a safe distance from people who are black holes
• Regularly doing things with friends
• Gardening

It helped me to find things to do which switch my brain off.
B