Talking Therapies in Mental Health

Nine years ago, and some years before that, I received counselling, from professional counsellors and psychotherapists. Before all that, I received counselling from a CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse), who was not professionally trained to be a counsellor or psychotherapist, but who had a humanistic approach, based upon occasionally summarising, and offering suggestions, but mostly listening, and drawing out the clients happiness and positivity.

The counsellors I received counselling from, and who claimed they had a cognitive-behavioural, and Rogerian theory and training, just wanted to impose their own ideas of me and my mental health problems, onto me, but the psychotherapists were much interested in my own ideas and findings. I feel in hindsight though, that whilst the psychotherapists learnt from my some of my ideas, they kept this knowledge to further their social roles and status, in their case-studies and careers, and did not share the knowledge with politicians or the public.

This is why I decided to give up counselling and psychotherapy, because I felt that I received better empathetic communication from friends, and from the mental health chat room on the Internet that I frequent. I created my web log, to share my own ideas and findings with the public, and with those in power, so they can create policies, for things like preventing child abuse and school bullying, and create health and safety work rights in law and legislation. It remains to be seen, whether these policies will be created and implemented.