steveT95 Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 Hi, I have been suffering with depression for about 4 or more months now. Starting off quite mild but is now pretty severe. I have been seeing two counsellors for 5 or 6 weeks and I am now coming to the end of this series of sessions. I am actually more depressed than I was before. Is there further treatment I can get? On any other options? Thank you
Eivuwan Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 Can you give us more details? What kind of therapy are you getting. Why are you seeing two counselors? Why do you have to end therapy soon?
Author steveT95 Posted July 10, 2013 Author Posted July 10, 2013 It's just chatting about things rather than CBT or anything like that. I signed up for counselling at college whilst waiting for one at the NHS and ended up with two. They both have different approaches so I kept them both. My last session with my college one is tomorrow because it is end of term. I get re-assessed in September when we go back. The NHS one says we only have a few sessions left, there was a big improvement in me but now its gone. I think I have about 2 more sessions then I have to wait twelve weeks before I am re-assessed.
iouaname Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 Can you start seeing another counselor after you finish with the one at school? I did counseling at school from February until the semester ended in May, and although it helped, I didn't feel complete. When I got home, I started seeing someone else and have been seeing that therapist for about 3 weeks now. I think you are the one who decides when you're finished therapy. If you're struggling with such a long-term depression, you should probably still be seeing someone. Maybe you need to find someone who is a better fit for you and can help you beyond just listening?
Eivuwan Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 Yes, it seems that both therapists are not the best fit for you and that you need to get counseling on a continuous basis without huge breaks. Is there a money problem? It may be better to shop for a private therapist or one in a psychoanalytic training institute in which the termination is up to you. 1
Oldcatskinner Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 Steve, First of all, that is a courageous move to go seek treatment. Kudos to you, my friend! Question for you: What do you expect out of your counselor(s)? This is paramount for counseling to work. Explained: I vehemently believe that no counselor can fix you. That is something that you must do. If a person goes to see a counselor, then they must be ready or at the point to work like hell to heal themselves. Now, just in case you may be wondering, I am NOT accusing you of not being ready for this. I don't know you from Adam, but I know what worked for me. Also, what else have you done to work your way into a better state? Has there been any exercise, cutting back from bad habits, weight loss, changes in lifestyle, work, or personal situations BESIDES your breakup? I ask this because at the time of my breakup, and for the duration of my relationship, I had lost over 100 pounds, quit chewing tobacco, started a new job, and dealt with some extreme heartbreaking family situations. These changes manifested themselves to a point where I was overwhelmed. Now mind you, not all of these changes were bad, they were just part of life. The counselor I went to see asked me how this made me feel. I committed myself to learning and understanding how such situations can affect a person emotionally, physically, hormonally, and psychologically. Once I realized that "Hey, this has happened to other people before, and it will happen to other people after" I was able to work through it. Pulling for you, my friend. 1
Author steveT95 Posted July 10, 2013 Author Posted July 10, 2013 My counselling is free from college and the NHS so cost isn't an issue. I have done a lot of talking to various people. And I mean A LOT! And it helped. I vented a the vast majority of my anger which was once crippling and I healed a bit after that. The stress of the relationship and then the break-up left me seriously underweight, weak and generally ill looking. I have since then eaten a lot and started exercising and this has improved me. Although the past week or so I stopped exercising because I started a knew job and other excuses. I also started focusing on me a lot more. Turned all of my free time into time to focus on my hobbies. What has 'suffered' and still does is my sleeping pattern. I don't go to bed until about 1:30am. That's if I am feeling good about things. It is usually 2:30 if I am unhappy. I know I should try to correct this but I have always had insomnia and to be honest, I quite enjoy my quiet time at night. As for counselling, it has helped a lot and there was significant improvements. But I feel I have said all that can be said. But the emotions are still there behind it and I can't get them out. Today I had a session with my NHS counsellor and told her I would like to discuss methods of dealing with things and we will be discussing it next week. (I didn't realise it was something you had to ask about, I thought that was the main idea of counselling)
Eivuwan Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 My counselling is free from college and the NHS so cost isn't an issue. I have done a lot of talking to various people. And I mean A LOT! And it helped. I vented a the vast majority of my anger which was once crippling and I healed a bit after that. The stress of the relationship and then the break-up left me seriously underweight, weak and generally ill looking. I have since then eaten a lot and started exercising and this has improved me. Although the past week or so I stopped exercising because I started a knew job and other excuses. I also started focusing on me a lot more. Turned all of my free time into time to focus on my hobbies. What has 'suffered' and still does is my sleeping pattern. I don't go to bed until about 1:30am. That's if I am feeling good about things. It is usually 2:30 if I am unhappy. I know I should try to correct this but I have always had insomnia and to be honest, I quite enjoy my quiet time at night. As for counselling, it has helped a lot and there was significant improvements. But I feel I have said all that can be said. But the emotions are still there behind it and I can't get them out. Today I had a session with my NHS counsellor and told her I would like to discuss methods of dealing with things and we will be discussing it next week. (I didn't realise it was something you had to ask about, I thought that was the main idea of counselling) The idea of counseling differs according to the philosophy and therapeutic orientation of the therapist. Some people know what they have to do but the issue is motivation. Others are motivated but don't know what to do. It is a very brave step to get therapy at all. All I can tell you is to voice the concerns you have voiced here to your therapist and take it one step at a time.
Oldcatskinner Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 Steve, Like you, the counseling sessions that I attended were through the University. Keep those sessions rolling with your counselor! When I went, I had no idea what went on in a session. I half expected to lay on a couch with a Freud type giving me a Rorschach test. I suppose that is the neat thing about counseling; it is what we make of it. Take care.
Author steveT95 Posted July 10, 2013 Author Posted July 10, 2013 So just tell me counsellor I don't feel better? I feel the same if not worse. The college counselling ends until September but I guess I might be able to continue with the NHS, unless the can decided enough is enough.
Eivuwan Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 Yes, tell the therapist your concerns. Don't forget that the therapy is for you. Are you afraid of hurting the therapist's feelings or something?
ballycastle Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 No, this is just new to me. Try this site... BACP - British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy 1
Author steveT95 Posted July 10, 2013 Author Posted July 10, 2013 Thanks for the link Has anyone here tried group sessions?
spiderowl Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 Sorry you're not feeling better. Anti-depressants do help with serious depression, I can vouch for that, but not everyone wants to go down that route and I find I have to keep coming off them because of side-effects. There are various different ones though and some may suit you. Another kind of 'therapy' I have found helpful is 'Focusing'. See the book on this by the developer Eugene Gendlin. I have had counselling, anti-depressants, tons of mostly useless advice, but I did find this useful. It's often used in counselling sessions but I guess depends on what resources your counsellors use as to whether they make use of it. Either way, there's no harm in finding out about it yourself. You can always borrow it from your local library. I hope you feel better soon. I have had long-term depression most of my life so I know a fair bit about it and how you might feel. Good luck with finding a way forward.
Sugarkane Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 Hi I can relate as I've been having the same problem with counselors too. Have you told them about how you feel about it? And what you expect from them?
L1ght Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I don't really believe too much in counselling in terms of overcoming depression. I mean I'm just stating the obvious here but the best way to beat depression is to be productive and achieve things......work, art, fitness, creativity etc. We improve our state of mind by working hard and achieving success. The reward systems built inside of us are enough to lift us up and help us see brighter prospects ahead of us. You want to beat depression? Do something you love and become amazing at it. There is no better cure than that.
darkmoon Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 some counsellors are crap you should be able to hire/fire one to me, some of them do not give a damn ask for a refund, I am disgusted by your tale I agree with L1ght as well
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