originally posted on 10-10-2016 10:03 PM

Alright that is about all that we have time for tonight. Thanks everyone for jumping on and participating in this discussion. Below is a summary of what we spoke about.

We opened the conversation with our expectations on help seeking.

We all agreed that it was good to be understood and taken seriously, to be given information to all the options to make an informed decision, such as different types of therapy including medication and conversation.

We also wanted to feel safe, listened to and respected as well as being informed of confidentiality and that we are in control of our treatment. 

Following this, we spoke about good experiences we have had.

Not all of us have had good experiences with the professionals, but that is okay since everyone has a different view on what is good and what is help seeking.

Those that didn’t find it helpful to talk to the professionals, did find it helpful to talk to their friends group.

Also being told that the problem is the problem, not the problem is me.

Next we moved onto talking about not so great experience.

It was discussed that wait times can be off putting, but it is important to note that it is outside of the counsellors control.

Not connecting with the counsellor that we are assigned was another biggie. Also it should be noted that not everyone is going to “connect” with the first counsellor they are given and not to give up hope if that is the case and to just request another counsellor at reception.

Sometimes it can be that the first place we go for help is our parents and they don’t know what to do. (if you are a parent/guardian reading this, please feel free to pop over to our parents site)

The fear of bad experiences was talked about and how to combat them by knowing your rights and responsibilities (RO factsheet) as well as acting on moments of courage.

If you are feeling ill towards your counsellor, then it is probably time to move onto another one. Remember to be vocal about your concerns, after all, they want what is best for you.

It can also be time to move on to another counsellor when there is a topic you feel as though you can’t talk to them about or they brush over it even though it is really important to you.

Requesting a new counsellor is nothing to feel guilty about, after all, you are in control of your sessions and you know you best.

originally posted on 10-10-2016 10:02 PM

@khaleesi_18 haha future psychologist minds think alike  

originally posted on 10-10-2016 10:03 PM

@khaleesi_18 aw, thanks! Might have to work a bit on the concision though. Still getting used to being a Builder, and I have a tendency to being overly wordy. But hey, it's all part of the learning process! 

Re: Has anything we have discussed tonight changed your mind about getting help and how to go about it?

I wasn't really expecting it, but yes, actually! There were a  few things I hadn't really considered up until this point -like Ben's point about making sure that helpseekers knew all their rights. Definitely something to keep in mind- both for myself and when I'm recommending avenues of helpseeking to other people in the futu

originally posted on 10-10-2016 10:06 PM

Thanks so much for coming everybody! And a special thanks to @j95 @khaleesi_18 and @stonepixie for running the show tonight! 

originally posted on 10-10-2016 10:07 PM

Good chat everyone! Have a great week

originally posted on 10-10-2016 10:05 PM

Thanks for the chat everyone it has been very interesting!

Goodnight!! 

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:15 PM

Maybe we should do more in our community to help people understand their rights and what to expect when they ask for help? What do you folks reckon? 

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:19 PM

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:22 PM

Oooh that's a very good point @stonepixie! Definitely keen to make sure that this is a need that we meet for people, if it's something that people feel like they need support with! 

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:26 PM

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:23 PM

Now that we have discussed bad experiences it is time to move onto our next Q

How do you know when its time to find someone new? If you've done this how'd you go about it?

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:27 PM

How do you know when its time to find someone new? If you've done this how'd you go about it?

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:35 PM

How do you know when its time to find someone new? If you've done this how'd you go about it?

I actually got some insightful advice on these forums about this not long after I signed up. Sometimes even if we have a really good counsellor, we may find it extremely hard to discuss a certain topic with them, perhaps it is on the tip of our tongue every session, but it never comes out. So sometimes that is all it takes to search for someone new. I personally got a referral from my psychologist at the time to a more appropriate service for my topic, as I had only been able to discuss this with my GP, who then briefed my psychologist on said topic (based on something I had agreed on).

So I went to a different service all together to deal with that issue and then went back to the service I came from afterwards. 

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:39 PM

So even if you do like them and have established a good relationship this does not mean that you have to feel guilty or weird about moving on to someone else 

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:45 PM

15 minutes to go! Time for the last question!

Has anything we have discussed tonight changed your mind about getting help and how to go about it?

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:59 PM

Has anything we have discussed tonight changed your mind about getting help and how to go about it?

Not really changed my mind about it, but I have a better idea of how I'd want to go about trying to get professional help again if I decided I wanted to.

originally posted on 10-10-2016 9:58 PM

Has anything we have discussed tonight changed your mind about getting help and how to go about it?

I think hearing other people's stories and reflecting on my own experiences has helped me to realise (if I become a psychologist) how important it is to not take it personally when a client no longer wants to see you or does not make another appointment with you. You really cannot know what is going on in their lives or their reason for not seeing you again. It certainly doesn't mean you are bad at your job! This would be a really challenging aspect of the job though - you might often wonder what happened to clients..

Also @Bay52VU's comments about researching different options is some good advice - I have never done this before and have always just gone with what the GP sends me off to. Maybe in the future I would consider doing some research before seeing someone