Do I need psychological help?

Many people who access counselling or psychological therapy have reservations about whether it will help, what other people will think, or believe they are emotionally weak. However, when clients come to the end of therapy they find they have developed life skills, learned things about themselves and feel so much better they sometimes ask to continue!

Apart from when receiving counselling it is rare to be able to have the opportunity to talk only about ourselves and our feelings (good and bad) to someone else who then listens without judging, interrupting or taking over the conversation and best of all when it is finished you can walk away knowing that your ‘secrets’ are safe.

Mental illness, mental health issues and staying mentally healthy are different but are on a continuum. Everyone has a mental health and most of the time the resources to stay mentally healthy. It is normal to feel ‘down’ some days, to have difficulty sleeping and be unable to concentrate. It may be due to changes either planned or unplanned that you are negotiating or a life transition such as bereavement, divorce, moving home, workplace demands or children moving on. If you, however, find that ‘down’ days are becoming excessive, if you are struggling with managing day to day activities for an extended period of time, if those close to you are expressing concern then turning to a professional counsellor or psychologist will help.

It may only be a few sessions that you need to get back on track but early intervention will stop things getting worse possibly leading to chronic depression or anxiety and later mental ill health.