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Are you trying to decide whether you should see a counsellor?

Taking the first step

Welcome to my first blog on my new website. To be honest with you, choosing the first subject to write about hasn’t been easy, there are many subjects worthy to be written and reflected on in the area of counselling and mental health, and I’ll be writing about some of these soon. But it struck me that ‘firsts’ are often difficult experiences for people

  • first day at school,uni / first day at a new job / first date etc.

and many thoughts can circulate in our heads such as:

  • what will it be like? / Will I cope? / Will others like me?

Or in my case: what will my readers want to read?

So if you’ve never been to counselling before there can be a number of thoughts that might cross your mind such as:

When you’re feeling like life is a struggle and aren’t sure how you’re going to cope, it can be difficult to take that first step of speaking to someone about it – contacting a counsellor can be daunting.

Well, the truth is that most counsellors are required to have their own personal therapy as part of their training and some, including me, have also been inspired to become counsellors because of previous experiences of counselling they’ve had which has made a big difference to their lives. So, those feelings about meeting a counsellor for the first time are familiar to me and It took me a little while to trust them enough to share how I was really feeling. Yet over time I realised that the benefits of talking to someone who could help me make sense of my difficulties, and therefore enable me to discover the most appropriate way of dealing with them, was incredible. It didn’t just change the situation – it changed how I saw myself and enabled me to make better choices for my life, the benefits of which remain with me all these years later.

So one of those choices I made several years ago was to become a counsellor – to offer to others what I had found incredibly valuable in my own life. Martin Luther King Jr said that ‘Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.’ When we’re on the brink of trying something new – a new job, new relationship etc. We don’t yet know what each day will hold at that new place in our lives, yet we hope for the best, If you’re reading this and are trying to decide whether you should see a counsellor can I make a suggestion?…if you’re struggling to cope and can’t make sense of things or feel better on your own or even when talking to friends and family, then take the first step – try it. A lot of counsellors, including myself, offer a reduced fee for the first session so that you can meet with them, ask questions about what counselling involves and get a feel for whether they might be the right person to help you

Over the years, clients have often told me that their first session was much better than they’d anticipated and that they’re glad they came to see me. My job satisfaction comes from helping others and I do my best to reassure and make clients feel comfortable from the first session. But I may not be the right person for everyone – that’s OK – because there’s a good chance I can point them in the direction of someone who can. The most important thing is that they get the help they need.

You don’t have to be alone with these problems any longer – taking the first step can be difficult but the journey is often easier when you have a travelling companion with you

I hope reading this may have been useful to you – do please contact me in confidence if you are ready to take that first step.

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