This article is offered for free use in your ezine, print publication or on your web site, so long as the author is credited and the biographical paragraph included, with hyperlink. I would appreciate being told that my article has been used. Title: Thinking about counselling? Author: Graham L Huxstep E-mail: graham@counselling-help.co.uk Copyright: © 2007 by Graham L Huxstep URL: http://www.counselling-help.co.uk Word Count: 836. Category: Counselling, Psychological Counselling, Psychotherapy, Health, Mental Health. Thinking about counselling? Maybe this time I will go and see someone. If that thought is on your mind, you might like to think about these things. It would seem logical that if you are facing an old problem, which you have tried to cope with but have not been successful, then it is probably time to try something new, certainly before going back to an unsatisfactory approach. Starting counselling can seem like a big step. Many people are put off by the cost. It is possible though to get counselling free. Your doctor (in the UK) these days is audited on what she / he offers to patients complaining of psychological difficulties. You might have to wait. And possibly you will not be offered as many sessions as you feel you need. Whatever the benefit though, you have got it for free. Some organisations offer low cost counselling. Entering free or low cost counselling in a Google search box will yield a number of leads. The Citizens Advice Bureau and the local reference library will also be able to help. Those that train counsellors need willing subjects so look for training organisations. In that category is the Westminster Pastoral Foundation (http://www.wpf.org.uk 020 7361 4800). The cost of an initial session is £25 and regular low cost sessions are £15. Metanoia (http://www.metanoia.ac.uk 020 8579 2505) is another training institute with fees ranging from £5 to £25 for daytime sessions. While your counsellor will not be fully trained he / she will be closely supervised. Some charities provide low cost / free counselling. Wimbledon Guild (http://www.wimbledonguild.co.uk 020 8946 0735) offers counselling free to some and asks for a contribution within their means to others. Although the service is intended for Merton residents they do make an exception in relation to family therapy. Counselling Ltd (http://www.counselling.ltd.uk) has an arrangement with some counsellors in private practice to see clients on State Benefits for free. Many counsellors in private practice offer concessions, so it is worth asking if they can work for the amount you can afford. For the good of the therapy, you and the counsellor, the agreed price has to be one you can both live with reasonably happily. Detective work and nerve may get you what you need at a price you can afford. If you think counselling is too costly, spare a thought for what you spend your money on now. A friend of mine said, ‘The most creative thing you do in life is the work you do on yourself’. If there is any truth in that, then counselling deserves a high priority? Reasons to go for it. Counselling is having someone to talk things over with. It is easing personal difficulties through conversation and a personal, professional relationship. When it comes to looking after you, having someone interested enough to listen to the stresses and strains of the day is a great help. There may well be an immediate sense of relief on having started counselling, a feeling of ‘I have done something.’  

Finding someone. 

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) lists nearly 400 counsellors in the South East and South West London sections of their Directory (http://www.bacp.co.uk your local library probably has the book version) so there are plenty to choose from.  

Another way to find someone is to enter in a Google search box something like   counselling wimbledon   and choose from those offered.  

To help you choose the Department of Health have produced two free booklets Choosing Talking Therapies? and Treatment Choice in Psychological Therapies and Counselling that you can order by phone (020 7210 4850) or view online by navigating from their home page at http://www.dh.gov.uk  

Do not shop till you drop. Make a reasonable number of enquiries, but watch that you are not putting off taking the all-important step.  

To successfully give up smoking you have to have the insight that smoking is harming you, that the obvious thing to do is give up and then you have to battle with your feelings as you find a way of living that does not involve the habit. It can be like that in counselling. Insights may come quickly and easily or you and your counsellor may have to work at finding out what is causing your difficulties. Just having talked about and around a problem may have shifted your view of it and possibly that will be enough to remove it. If not then you need to try new ways of living and not reacting to failed attempts but thinking about them - what went wrong and why? There is no magic to therapy, once you understand your difficulties the chances are they will yield to the usual problem solving method.  

Counselling is an investment in you. A successful experience of therapy will help you with other relationships: with parents, with partners and at work. If your relationships are improved the chances are you will be living a much happier life.  

Graham L Huxstep Accredited Counsellor 5th. May 2007 http://www.counselling-help.co.uk