Is counselling actually useful?

can i ask why?

When I had it as an adolescent it was patronising and the people who did it seemed clueless and just not that good at what they were doing; it was very hard to generate a rapport. I tried a session of university counselling which was slightly better but they didn't really get to any kind of root of the problem, just had me talk at them for ages and it didn't really improve anything.

Thank you, the patronising thing is the thing that would stop me tbh.
do u think it would help for nightmares and anxiety?

It helps some and not others. It will partly depemd om you and partly on the counselor. If you rule it out beforehand then obviously it will be of no help and you cna go about finding a different solution or just put up with the nightmares and anxiety. Your choice.

i have been putting up with it for half a year and would continue to do so if it wasnt for the input of other people.

True, it was insensitive. Got rid of it.

The Davalla who made that comment is gone now. He was in a bad place; we don't talk about him no more. The new Davalla requests hand-shakes if he upsets people, to sort things out proper.

This is how I would look at it.

I have a problem. it is affecting me.- understand why, then look at possible solutions. I would consider the solutions and try them one by one according to which I think would be most effective. If I ruled one out then I would have sound reasons for doing so.

Clearly talking about it works for some people, but there are different types of counselors and you need to hit it off with them. You also need to co operate and approach it with an open mind.

If you dont have a solution and you refuse to look for one, then you will rmeain where you are. That is a choice.

Personallu I would prefer to understand and deal with it, so it doesnt get worse and I could get on with life. Nightmares and anxiety sound dull.

Different things work for different people; we're all unique and work differently.

Recovery, or just easing symptoms, involves trying lots of different things. If you are willing to get better, you need to fight for it. You can't wait for other people to tell you what to do, or what you should or shouldn't do. It may be that counselling does work for you. It may be that it's something that's helpful once in a while. It may be that counselling helps you deal with a specific area in your life. It may be that you discover CBT is more useful to you.

The truth is, you do now know until you try! Try everything! If your counsellor doesn't work for you REQUEST a new one! We connect to different people and that's just how it is. More importantly ASK for help! Your counsellor can't read your mind. By saying I have problem with this and this, what do you think I should do? Is how you'll let your counsellor know what you need help with. Fight for the help you need. Try lots of different things, think about what's worked for you in the past and if it's something you can do more often. Think about how you can improve the stresses and different areas in your life.

The journey to cope better is hard and long.. but I know you can do it. Just don't stop fighting. Try everything until you find what works for you.

It helps a lot of people. You do have to put a lot of work in yourself for it to be effective. You should try it with an open mind.

What sort of stuff do you actually do?
like what happens in a 'session' and stuff?

well this is seeming like a distinct possibility lol so im wondering if it is acc worth it?
also pls dont move this to MH cos not allowed to post there ty

Honestly it depends on what type of therapy you do and your particular needs.

Your first session will be some psychometrics (questionnaires), discussion about what you think your problems are, checking you're 'safe', discussing a plan for therapy and talking about family history.

Generally in counselling you might talk about some specific problems/difficult situations, how you feel and how you could make them better. You might talk through any trauma. Talk through feelings about yourself/the world (e.g. the world is not safe, I am a bad person) and work out where they come from and what the evidence against them is. If you're doing something CBT based you'll probably also have some behavioural tasks (i.e. challenging fears) to do outside the session (or sometimes inside) which you'll discuss coping strategies, how it went etc.

Actually really helped me to be honest. Sometimes you don't have anyone to talk to because you feel like youre burdening them and this can really help.