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Does anyone find counselling sessions useful?

Skel1ingt0n

 I've always had a hard time opening up too people and talking about feelings and i also  have a hard time talking to someone i don't  know, it takes me a long time to get comfortable around people. I started drinking heavily around 2010 when i left college, most of my friends were off to university and i didn't know what i wanted to do with my life. I had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that my life was not structured anymore, from 2010 to 2012 i rarely left my house, the only time i ever left the house was to visit family members or to get alcohol. Around 2013 i cut down on the alcohol significantly, i signed up for the job centre and started going out quite often with a few friends i met on a gaming forum, I quickly found going to the job centre too much it was overcrowded and a loud atmosphere and i disliked going there. I was on and off the job centre after that  (mostly because i was late or forgot an appointment or just couldn't be [***]ed to go)  I started drinking heavily again around the end of 2013 because i found out my friends from high school was just using me.  I can't remember much about 2014 because i drank a lot of alcohol during the year and quickly spent the inheritance that my grandmother spent her whole working life saving up for me. 2015 was a particularly bad year, my aunt who i was very very close to (and the only person that i was able to tell her that i loved her) died from cancer, around the middle of 2015 i also started using drugs thanks to my gaming friends (FYI: We are no longer friends)  I was quickly addicted to cocaine and heroin and had regular arguments with certain family members. I cleaned my act up in July 2016 and around early December i signed back up to the job centre and hven't missed an appointment since, on ( i think) May 30th 2017 i started my first job working for a wood recycling company and i'm currently enjoying my life for the first time in years. I have the occasional slip up and go on a boozy bender but other than that i'm doing quite good. I've started going to counselling sessions for depression & anxiety and my alcohol & drug addiction, so i won't have and more slip ups, but i'm not sure it's for me. I rarely speak during the hour that i have with my counsellor i just think it's a waste of time, she recently brought up the subject about the [******] childhood that i had, and it really [****]ed me off to the point where i said "*** it" to going back for another session. If i didn't make a promise to my eldest sister i would't go back. SO I'M ASKING THIS QUESTIONS!  Does anyone find counselling to be good for them? 

Edited by Nellie-Mod

  • in reply to Former Member

    It's really interesting to see your support for a client writing things down.  When I first saw a psychologist years ago I was really hopeful that I'd finally get help to feel less awful, but really struggled to talk to him, in the end I kind of wrote him a letter every week which we discussed.  He was very good about it but I felt a bit ridiculous not being able to speak about what I was thinking.

    I think you should try to do whatever you can to make it work positively for you does the councillor know that you are ASD, are you 'officially' diagnosed?

    You could even maybe write a calm version of what you've written here and give it to them so you both know where you are starting from?

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    I'm of a school of therapeutic training that says that the single most important factor in counseling is a positive relationship between the therapist and client.

    She may have entered the topic of family of origin dynamics way too soon. Alternatively she may not be thinking about how your ASD influences your ability to recall, process and communicate your experience.

    If you have promised your sister to go back I would go back and tell your counselor how you felt about her asking and try and express why. This might be a good thing to write down, rather than try to speak it.

    I've got a client with ASD at the moment and I'm thinking of suggesting we do some of the work using email to see if it helps her process some of the ideas.  

  • Yes...so lower your guard and try to trust it...you obviously have a lot of hurt to unpack that will take more than one session to unpack.....try to see beyond the immediate session....try to trust...they are trying to help, not hurt