Does counselling really work?

[ruby77]

Hi all,

 

To cut a long story short I have suffered with depression and anxiety on and off all my life.

 

After a break up 6 months ago that left me in a mess and unable to move on, I decided to try counselling.

 

I have only had one session, I dont know how he did it because I find it hard to talk about my feelings but a lot of revealing stuff came out. I have serious low self esteem issues, I really think very little of myself. I have felt inadequate all my life, through school, work, relationships and more recently, around my friends.

 

My question is, can counselling really help with this? I feel worse than I have felt for a very long time having realised all this but also a sense of relief that there could possibly be a reason behind my depression. Im pretty confused right now, can I be fixed???

 

Thanks all.

[ConstantVoyager]

Therapy does work if you work at it. Talk therapy plus drug therapy has the highest success rate.

[ruby77]

How do you mean 'work at it' ? How can I ensure I get the best out of it?

 

Also, is it normal that I feel so bad now? I was hoping it would make me feel better not worse...

[crederer]

Also, a lot of times, therapists will give you excersizes to do. Make sure you do them to the best of your ability. I think most people fail at therapy because they don't want to put the work into the excersizes that are set out for them.

[ruby77]

I'll try anything right now to get out of this depression!

 

Thanks for the advice everyone, I will make sure I give it my all.

[whichwayisup]

Try cognitive behaviour therapy instead of just seeing a regular shrink. CBT is so helpful, the T (therapist) will teach you coping skills in how to handle and cope with stuff in a healthier way and filling out the TEA forms (Thought-Error-Analysis) during every visit gives your T a guideline of where your mindset is and how to correct it with talk therapy. Trust me, it helps! I'm a fellow anxiety sufferer and my motto is ,what you put into therapy is what you get out of it. It's hard work but well worth it at the end.

 

Don't worry about how long this takes, some days will be better than others, and those good days, the high you'll feel, the empowerment and feeling good rocks!

 

You may not need meds, that's the great thing about CBT, once you face your fears, figure out what is causing the anxiety or depression, and get it resolved enough that you can process stuff in a healthier way, much of bad and negative feelings disappear.

[M30USA]

I benefitted very much from counseling after my divorce. I think men need to especially make sure they get things off their chest and share things.

[FitChick]

I'll try anything right now to get out of this depression!

 

Thanks for the advice everyone, I will make sure I give it my all.

 

I sent you a PM.

[Tayla]

When the right conditions are met, therapy can do wonders.

 

Having a positive rapport with the therapist. Equal grounding of respect and what the goals are to be. Use of time wisely. Earnest effort to work thru and communicate effectively. 100% agree with the cognitive therapy....

 

I'm an herbalist by habit so try some soothing teas and aromatherapy. Bouts of depression happen to many of us, you are not alone ....

[steveT95]

Counselling works brilliantly. The key is to be honest and completely open to it. A lot of people turn up and expect to be fixed simply because they went to their appointments. But you have to really listen to what the counsellor suggests and be honest with yourself. There's no point hiding anything.

 

Me and my Dad both went through counselling at the same time. For separate reasons with separate counsellors. It is very common to feel like crap afterwards. I always found I was fine for the day of my appointment but when down hill the next couple of days.

My Dad was always exhausted after an appointment and in no mood to talk to anyone.

 

Counselling can also be very rewarding towards the end. My counsellor had me fill out score cards that rated certain behaviours and feelings out of 5. Then collected a total score out of 25. The higher the score the more depressed or anxious you were. Initially I scored 19 or 21, after counselling a scored 3.

 

It really does work. I was in the same situation as you

[carhill]

My question is, can counselling really help with this?

If you want to change aspects of yourself to treat the issues you're facing, therapy, along with any indicated medications, can be beneficial.

I feel worse than I have felt for a very long time having realised all this but also a sense of relief that there could possibly be a reason behind my depression.

 

I noticed the same thing in the early stages of MC. Things got 'worse' before improving. We did a little over 40 sessions of MC over around 14 months. I would say things started getting 'better' about 8 months in, in that I felt more positive and energized by the process and with life in general. I did not take any medication, as our psychologist didn't feel it necessary. He felt my depression was situational (due to caregiving) and not clinical.

 

Im pretty confused right now, can I be fixed???

 

If you feel confused, task your counselor to address that confusion and clarify the issues which are important to you. You're the boss. They work the issues you bring to the space. Good luck.