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Many people when they have problems are able to talk to someone about it (loved ones / friends / colleagues), sort things out and move on. Sometimes that might not seem an option, for all sorts of reasons.
Whilst I have and use some counselling skills such as active listening and reflection, I am not a fully trained counsellor. Details of the training I have completed are below.
Usually with counselling there is the expectation of an ongoing relationship for at least a few, regular sessions. I do not expect or require this. If you do find you want more than a couple of sessions we might look at whether formal counselling would in fact be more appropriate but (and this will be a continuing theme) I will allow you to decide what is best for you.
At present in the UK the counselling profession isn't regulated. Anyone can call themselves a counsellor and charge you for sitting and listening to you. So this could, legally at least, be called an online counselling service. However, as I have not completed a full training programme plus associated practice and membership of a professional organisation, I at least do not feel comfortable claiming I am a counsellor.
The BACP definition of counselling from their website:
"Counselling takes place when a counsellor sees a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having, distress they may be experiencing or perhaps their dissatisfaction with life, or loss of a sense of direction and purpose. It is always at the request of the client as no one can properly be 'sent' for counselling.
By listening attentively and patiently the counsellor can begin to perceive the difficulties from the client's point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, possibly from a different perspective. Counselling is a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion. It does not involve giving advice or directing a client to take a particular course of action. Counsellors do not judge or exploit their clients in any way."
Whilst I won't be directive - what you do is left entirely up to you - I may occasionally offer advice (which may include pointers to other organisations I think might be helpful). I fully accept that you may choose not to take any advice offered. Ultimately, what you do is up to you. I will not tell you to do anything as I think it is far more important that you are empowered to make your own choices in life.
The Samaritans provide a wonderful service throughout the year to many thousands of people, especially at the darker times in people's lives. You can get more information at their website and if you can support them with a donation that would be great too.
However, they don't currently provide a real-time online chat service and you may not always be able to speak to the same person.
Life coaching is another area where there is no regulation. It is generally directive, goal-setting and does not look at the causes for current behaviour based on what has happened to the individual in their past. There is an extensive description of life coaching on Wikipedia.
I couldn't be described as a life coach as I will not set goals for you to meet, with the attendant risk of futher problems or upset if they cannot be met and may well be interested in how current behaviour is rooted in the past.
I'm here. I'm interested, impartial, empathetic and helpful. You will get my full attention during our session. I'm not judgemental or going to tell anyone else about what you've said (apart from the limited exceptions below).
I have a Certificate in Counselling Skills from wpf which uses a psychodynamic approach. I have also completed the TA101 course with Metanoia which is the introduction to Transactional Analysis. I have also attended a workshop on working with people who self injure with Bristol Crisis Service for Women.
Other supportive work includes a spell volunteering with GetConnected who provide a valuable signposting service young people, assiting them find the help they need.
There are two circumstances under which I'd pass on any information:
Only the minimum amount of information necessary will be kept at any time. The web-based chat system does not keep a log of sessions unless you copy and paste it in to a file on your computer before we finish.
Consult the directories of The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and The Counselling Society (CS). Membership of one of these organisations does not necessarily guarantee that the person is a "good" counsellor or that you will get on with them or find them helpful. It does however mean that they will at least have accumulated a certain amount of training and practical experience. You may still find that you need to try more than one counsellor, or more than one method of working, to establish what works for you.
You can find a summary of different therapy types here and also here.
No. But if you need to talk seriously about sexually-related issues of any sort, that's fine.