Sources of Help

It is important that we can feel safe in a counselling context. I’m not talking primarily about being deliberately harmed – by counsellors or therapists that are ‘bad’. I am talking about you feeling comfortable with the person you are seeing. There are many factors that come into play, including:

• Whether or not, at first glance, you like the person or not
• Whether the approach they take to counselling is consistent with where you want to go with your
  recovery
  

There are two main reasons why the counselling process doesn’t feel comfortable, one rather
inevitable and the other manageable.
1) It is usually very difficult to go and see someone about an issue, and to talk about things that are
very private. Until you settle in with the person you are seeing, this will NOT be comfortable, but
it is usually a good idea to just push through with this discomfort, realising it is normal.
2) The discomfort touched on at the top of this page is manageable by finding another counsellor. If
you are uncertain how you feel try discussing your uncertainties with the counsellor. It is part of
the counsellor’s job to ensure you feel safe. Perhaps trust is a major issue for you, as it is with
many abuse survivors, and you may be unlikely to trust any counsellor. It could be worth
exploring this with the counsellor before deciding whether or not to go ahead with further
counselling.