So I made a post recently (here’s the link https://www.reddit.com/r/internetparents/comments/1k3sbbx/i_have_a_really_bad_fear_of_the_dark_and_its_only/) and a lot of people said therapy is something I should really look into as it was possibly early signs of something more serious. Issue is I don’t know how that works. I’ve looked it up but I can’t really find a therapist office near me and I’m not sure what kind of issues these fall under so I can’t look for anything more specific. And this may be something you need to be transferred to by a doctor, like I said I have no idea.
Worst thing is it would require me to tell my parents I want therapy. My Mother has offered in the past but I’m still unsure how to inform her of me suddenly wanting to go now. Not only that but I would need my parents to not only drive me there but also, depending on how the NHS works with therapy, have them pay as well. I know it would be good for me but honestly this just seems both very stressful and confusing and may not even be woth it. Sorry if this post makes no sense, it’s 3:30am and I made this post after having a nightmare plus I’m sick.
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You made the previous post in the voice of a person who knows they need help and you’re making this post because it’s really difficult to ask for help. Since your mom has brought up you going to therapy before, you could ask her if she would help you set up an appointment. It doesn’t have to be super intense. Don’t worry about needing a specialized therapist at this moment. Therapy is worth trying, it has improved the quality of my life a lot.
Hi, there! I’m a therapist. (I’m not your therapist, though, and this communication does not make you my patient.)
The answer in part depends on where you live. I gather from your mention of the NHS you’re in the UK. I’m in the US, so my understanding of how this works in the UK is a little weak; perhaps somebody in the UK can chime in to help out.
My understanding is that finding therapy in the UK can be confusing because there’s multiple different approaches.
One is to go see your doctor (GP) and tell them what your mental health issue is and that you’d like to see a therapist. They’ll take it from there, deciding whether they themselves might be able to address your problem with medications instead of referring you on, or they will refer you on for mental health care. I think it might be the case that you’d then be referred to a psychiatrist to assess your mental health problem, and then maybe you’d be referred by them on to a psychotherapist through the NHS. (I’m not sure whether your GP could refer right to psychotherapist, or whether they have to go through a psychiatrist.) The upside of doing it this way is that you pay nothing out of pocket. The downside is that there’s a wait, and it can be a significant one, every step of the way. I’ve heard of two year waits for a psychotherapist through the NHS after the referral is approved. The other possible downside is that once you do get a psychotherapist through the NHS, it is typically for a very limited number of sessions. Once you exhaust that, you have to get a fresh referral. Also, they only provide some very limited kinds of therapy, which can be an issue.
The second way is to seek out an independent psychotherapist, i.e. counsellor. Some people in the UK carry health insurance that pays for independent psychotherapy, but this is rare. You would have to ask your parents if they have such a resource. If you don’t have such an insurance plan, you (or probably your parents) would need to pay out of pocket. Here is a directory of private counsellors in the UK that you can search by location to find someone near you.
The third way is to find a charity that offers psychotherapy. There are charities which offer free and low-cost therapy, usually for specific populations or specific mental health problems.
This webpage has a discussion of all three of these approaches, and has some handy pointers to things like directories:
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/talking-therapy-and-counselling/how-to-find-a-therapist/
Hello – I don’t want to spam your post so I’ve put some suggestions in the reply to STEMpsyche – I hope you find them useful!