Counselling West Bridgford
DESIGNED FOR YOU, WHEREVER YOU ARE
Is Private Therapy Right for Me?
I’m sure that anyone who gives even a passing thought to it, will wonder what to expect from therapy, and you may even be asking if private therapy is right for you.
And if you think you could do with some help, you may feel all sorts of things, including anxiety, fear, sadness, guilt to name a few. For others, it can feel exciting, with a sense of anticipation and hope. Very often it can be a mixture of both!
And all that’s perfectly understandable. Opening up to a stranger, potentially about our darkest fears or secrets, might be painful. Or you may worrying about being judged. It could be you imagine your therapist thinking you’re not “bad enough” perhaps with clients “far worse than you”. Or you might even imagine that you’re so bad there’s no way you can be fixed.
I wanted to write something to give you an idea of what to expect. Hopefully to allay some of those fears, and if I do a good job in this and subsequent articles, I hope you might feel at least a little relieved, and maybe even a little hopeful that things can improve.
Anything I write is based on the experiences of my clients, my own experience, and the results of a survey I carried out; sometimes I reference outside experts. Any references to clients aren’t any specific person, as confidentiality is a vital part of therapy, rather it’s a combination of the 400+ people I have seen in the various therapy rooms I’ve been in over the years.
I have news for you: you’re both normal and abnormal!
I am so often asked “am I normal?” “have you seen this before?” “is there any hope for me?”.
And how I approach those questions is always the same.
I hear that you want to understand if you can be helped, and if the distress or struggle you’re feeling might one day be over. My response is to explore those thoughts with you, and how it feels for you to be starting to have therapy. We discuss the hope that you might one day feel better alongside the fear you may never improve.
I can always confirm that you are both perfectly normal and wonderfully abnormal, but also that similar hopes and fears are felt by every client who enters my therapy room.
What is also always important to say, is that ethically I would not accept you as a client if I didn’t think I could help. I wholeheartedly advocate for the UKCP Code of Ethics which sets high standards for me, and seeing clients I can’t help would go against that code.
Am I bad enough for therapy?
When the circumstances of your life are good and people on the outside would wonder what you’ve got to worry or be sad about, it might leave you wondering if really you’re “bad enough” for therapy. Particularly when you know it’s difficult for people to get mental health support, or if you hear that it’s tricky to find a private therapist with availability.
I often here things like “I’m worried I’m wasting up your time” or “I’m worried I might be spending money needlessly”.
How “bad” someone presents is incredibly subjective. If you feel that working through some of your thoughts, feelings, issues or circumstances would be helpful, then that’s all we need. Sometimes having a confidential conversation with someone who won’t judge, is so very helpful. And when you see a trained psychotherapist there’s an added bonus: you don’t have to worry about your therapist as you’re speaking – it’s all about you and we’re trained to hear whatever your experience is.
How do I get started?
If you feel like you might like to explore the idea of starting therapy, you’ll find that most therapists will offer a free initial consultation or meeting to see if you’re a good fit, and if they can help.
I offer a free 10-minute telephone consultation, and usually I set aside a little more time than that just in case it would be helpful for us to talk a little longer. How you get in touch with me to book that is down to you: you can book online, text, telephone or email me, whichever is your preference – my contact details are below.
Call or text: 07968 767 232
Email: michelle@counsellingwestbridgford.co.uk
If you’d like to explore my website further, here are a few links that you might find helpful:
If you’d like to check my credentials, here’s the link to my profile on the UKCP’s Find A Therapist: Michelle Briggs (psychotherapy.org.uk)
