Adie Goldberg, ACSW, M.Ed
Do I Need Counseling?

To answer that question, you must ask yourself the following:

• Do I have a stressful problem or a situation that is not being resolved?
• Do I have a supportive person to discuss my feelings with?
• Is this person objective and helping me come up with solutions to the problem?
• Do I feel that I have done everything I know to do, but the situation is not getting better?

In our day-to-day life, there are many stresses and issues that need to be resolved. Usually they are taken care of by brainstorming and developing a plan. Other times, just talking to a friend or family member makes the problem seem more manageable. Sometimes, time heals. However, there are other situations that are not so easily handled.There might be times when we experience distressing events and feelings which seem to have no end or solution in sight. Sometimes we know that our feelings are due to particular circumstances such as marital stress, relationship problems, bereavement or illness, at others we may have no idea what is making us feel the way we do; all we know is that our lives have become uncomfortable, difficult or even seemingly intolerable. Maybe your stress is caused from something that happened long ago and you haven't been able to talk about it. Maybe there is no one you are close enough to share your innermost feelings. Perhaps you are just at your wits end and need someone objective to listen and provide positive feedback.

There are times that the challenges in our lives may lead to isolation, anxiety, depression, and other health problems. Through counseling, you can explore your alternatives, build on your strengths, and develop new skills.

Adie is less concerned with how a problem arose than with how the current factors sustain it and prevent change. Counselling can help peopleo clarify their thoughts and feelings so they can arrive at their own decisions.

Adie believes counseling is essentially a lively, human and personal experience between two people. The aim is to help you find your own answers and to become more in charge of your own life rather than less so; to live your life rather than be lived by it.

Counselling is not an easy process because it often entails digging below the surface and talking about things we feel uncomfortable about and tend to push aside in everyday life. Although disturbing, it can also be a relief to air half buried ideas and feelings. It might be helpful to think of counselling as an opportunity to take risks that we are not usually able to do in our day to day lives because it might seem bizarre or silly. Ideas, thoughts, feelings that others, or even part of ourselves, disapprove of can be aired, explored and contemplated in the counselling room. Whatever the nature of the problem revealed, no judgement is made and absolute confidentiality is maintained. A counsellor will support you during this time and also point out other possible sources of help.

Counseling may be helpful in any of the following areas:

• Adult relationships
• Career change
• Death of a loved one
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Adjustment to family changes
• Parent-child relationships
• Sibling relationships
• Divorce
• Cooperative parenting between divorced parents
• Abusive relationships
• School related problems
• Trauma

Your feelings and concerns about family, friends, health, and work deserve attention. Counseling gives you the opportunity, in a quiet, supportive environment, to take the time to stop, think, and plan.A rare opportunity in today's world.