Is Counselling Right for Me?

Most people feel very wary about going to see someone because they are struggling to cope, maybe depressed, unhappy, confused, anxious or tormented. It may seem like an admission of failure or weakness, a contradiction of our self-help society’s values. Maybe it’s a fear of what will be uncovered, that somehow it will make things worse. Many feel that it will result in a permanent labelling of deficiency, a stain that will never subsequently be removed.

For these reasons, and many others, countless people struggle on with their daily lives, often wearing an outward mask of stoicism or light-heartedness which conceals an inner feeling of loneliness, unhappiness and despair.

It is quite common to hear from people who come to counselling following a traumatic event, such as a bereavement, that they wished they had come years earlier but had never thought counselling was for them.

SCHN counsellors and therapists understand how difficult it can be to make that initial contact and so we aim to make it as easy as possible. In an initial telephone discussion you can discuss with the counsellor what’s troubling you and find out what your options are. If you feel you might benefit from counselling the counsellor would generally meet with you to go a bit deeper so that you can get a feel for the process and get a good idea of whether you would benefit from counselling. Only after this would you make a decision whether to proceed or not. As you would expect, these discussions are confidential and non-judgemental – you are accepted for who you are.

Counselling is, of course, not for everyone, but we do feel that it is sad when someone struggles through life on their own when things could be shared with another, easing the burden and helping to gain some relief.