UK Counselling costs- desperate but broke

I know I can get Eating Disorder help on the NHS, but real counselling is something I need for all my issues.

Anyone know how much it costs? :anyone:

I am on Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance at the moment- will that make a difference?

Thankyou greatly in advance.

 

its free
go and see your doctor, be patient, stay strong regards Pete

 

you can even get psychotherapy on the NHS so definetly go see your GP

 

Hi

I agree that going to your GP could be a good place to start.. in my experience I haven't found them that great at putting your name forward for counselling (maybe especiall at the moment due to the cuts!) so you may need to spell it out to them. The counselling sessions may be limited though, say 3 or 6 sessions.. but this is something you could ask.

And yes there should be psychotherapy available too on the NHS, but again you'd need to ask for this.. could be a waiting list but from what I've heard my local NHS psychotherapy department (Surrey) is actually quite good although tends to offer group therapy as opposed to 1-2-1.. again, it's cheaper for them! If this is really something you are not keen on you can tell them.

It may also be worth contacting private counsellors as some offer counselling on a sliding scale. I found this counselling charity that offer free counselling for people on benefits so maybe that would help:
http://www.counselling.ltd.uk/index133.html

Also, not sure how old you are etc but there may be some youth counselling (if you're under 25) in your area which offers free counselling.

Of course this is all based on my experience/what i've heard from people in my area so it could well be different in your area and with your GP but either way i hope you find the help and support you need

 

I second Jenny. All of it, including the private counselling that offer sliding scales depending on income. If you're under ?28 ( can't remember) and have a GP in a certain borough, there is a really good one that I know of via the Tavistock - I wish I could have gone through that one but my GP was outside of their referring patch.

Also, I don't know if this will apply, but my workplace in the UK and one in Australia that I worked for has a counselling service that you can access via Occupational Health. It might be worth seeing if your workplace could offer something similar, and it's (in my case) free for staff.

Good luck!

 

As above^^ but you will be on a waiting list

Its worth going for, even if its just to have a chat with your GP to get the ball rolling x