Re: Does counselling really work ?
I will take the time to take your question seriously and answer it properly. I will say that counselling often does fail. But in my experience it does for many reasons. It could fail because of the counsellor taking the wrong approach, being incompetent or unqualified; not having a thorough diagnosis of the presenting problem in a referral or not being briefed properly by a doctor, nurse, lawyer police etc. It could fail because the client or patient does not or cannot participate in the counselling process because of immaturity ( in the case of a child) mental incapacity or psychiatric illness or simply that the client is there against their will. There are many other situations where counselling is inappropriately offered or imposed. THis happens a lot in the case of trauma and critical incident where companies employ an army of counsellors who offer their services to industries and emergency services orgs. Often these outfits are not much more than ambulance chasers who's main aim is to charge a huge yearly fee to clients so their counsellors can be available a moment's notice if needed. Trouble is they are often only giving a few sessions then the client has to pay themselves. Sometimes traumatic incidents take years of good therapy to come to terms with. Not 6 sessions that will jst open the can of worms and leave the client floundering. In my time I have also had the privilege to work with and learn from some brilliant clinicians who have helped many people and also been great teachers. I could go on but I will say that it is really impossible to answer a huge question like this. The more you learn the more you realise just how much you don't know - especially about human nature and emotions. But I will say that I think counselling does work. Like everything else if it's the right person doing it and that person takes care not to do more damage than good. And I certainly think that if somebody says that they want to deal with a problem themselves with the support of their family or significant others, That should be respected.Especially with children. Counselling will NEVER work if the client/ patient doesn't want to be there. In the case of this #%$@ He belongs in court then prison. The girl is remarkable. She should receive every type of care appropriate to her age. Sometimes 3 year olds are able to benefit from talking to a sensitive professional. I have never worked with children this young. I couldn't comment. I hope this helps. Happy to elaborate on anything.Re: Does counselling really work ?
Hi I knew the spelling didn’t look quite right !Re: Does counselling really work ?
Re: Does counselling really work ?
Re: Does counselling really work ?
Re: Does counselling really work ?
What comes before everything is that everybody is a unique individual. People - including children - all react to traumatic incidents different ways. Yes there are some reactions that appear common to most victims of trauma. My golden rule is after careful observation/ examination, a person appears to be coping with the resources they already have available to them..family, friends etc, let them cope. That does not mean telling them to go home and forget it. It means making sure they have access to the appropriate services/ treatments and help if they (or their carers) feel they are needed. The counsellor may feel it's appropriate to let a person know some of the things they may experience down the track - flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, sleep disturbance and other symptoms of stress or anxiety. People often feel very unsafe after an incident. Normal defence mechanisms and are torn away. The normal way that we assume the world is a safe place so we can function is stolen to a degree. There are so many ways that a good counsellor can attenuate some of these symptoms. But it is equally wise to take the attitude that "If it ain't broke..Don't try to fix it" Anybody can provide a degree of positive help to somebody who has been hurt in some way. Just listen. Don't try to "solve" their problem. Don't judge. Don't give "advice" Don't try to be an expert. And don't say "I know how you feel" Even if you have been through what they have. You haven't been through it..as them. Just listen. And ask them what they want.Re: Does counselling really work ?
Re: Does counselling really work ?
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