BARNET COUNSELLING ASSOCIATION
The Association of Primary Care Counsellors in Barnet
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Do I need a counsellor?Counselling can help you with any of the following
If you are aware that you have been behaving out of character, tearful, angry, or generally feeling listless and tired, you may feel that you just can’t cope and don’t know where to turn. Often these feelings pass and you go back to your old self, but if they don’t and it doesn’t look as if things will improve, it may be that you need some help to look at what’s been happening with someone who will listen without telling you what to do or making judgements. Counselling can help with both ordinary problems of living and with life crisis. A lot of people want to talk about how they are feeling but there is no-one there to listen. Most of us feel better if we have someone to talk to, who hears and accepts us, especially when we are going through a bad time. It can be easier to talk to a stranger than a relative or friend. Counselling is for all sorts of people, whether you are working-class, middle-class, old or young, heterosexual, gay or lesbian, black or white or from an ethnic minority community or have a disability. People go to see a counsellor for all sorts of reasons. It may be someone has died or that your relationship has ended. You may feel depressed and isolated, unable to sleep or be having panic attacks. You may simply feel you can’t cope any more and need someone to talk to and want to try to understand yourself better. There is still a stigma around going to see a counsellor and some people feel it is a sign of weakness. Seeing a counsellor does not mean you are self-indulgent or going mad. Don’t let these sorts of prejudices stop you seeing a counsellor. It can take a great deal of courage to decide you are prepared to ask for help and look at yourself and your situation. Going to see a counsellor is often the first positive step you can make to help yourself. |