Hi John,
Just wanted to reply to your original post. My first experience of counselling/therapy was many years ago. I went primarily because I was bulimic; at the time I thought that was my problem. Anyway, it was the sort of therapy where the "patient" is supposed to lead, I think it has a name but I forget what it is. I had no idea what was causing my problem and was afraid to talk, maybe for fear of being judged, not getting the "right" answer, I don't know. So I spent many hours, and a lot of money, sitting in a room in silence with this counsellor. I don't know what qualifications he had, he was recommended by someone else. Eventually I realised this was never going to get me anywhere and told him I wasn't going to go any more and that my doctor had prescribed Prozac for bulimia, at which he got quite nasty; no respect for my decision and told me drugs wouldn't help (bit like him then, but cheaper ha ha).
Well, I try to laugh about it now but it put me off therapy for many years.
A few years ago I got really desperate, my doctor presribed fluoxetine, which helped, and on my asking, recommended a psychotherapist. What a difference! This lady told me how we were going to proceed, and what her approach would be (CBT and a few other therapies, including some of hypnotherapy). She was very professional, and friendly and caring. She had a programme, but it was flexible to deal with issues that came up from week to week. I made a lot of progress with her. I think I was seeing her for about a year, roughly every two weeks. I won't say my depression was completely resolved by these sessions, but she certainly put me on the right road, and now, 2-3 years later, I don't consider myself depressed.
So, two extremes of experience from me! Hope it's of use.
