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Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
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Know any good counsellors in Edinburgh?

 
 
neukoln
09:10 / 24.06.04
Right. All their shiny brochures say they are experts in Dealing With Depression. Phoning and having a wee chat gets the same response 'Me yes, I can do depression, I am reeeal good'. Yet they aren't... says I... who's now seen 3 who were hopeless. So, after two years and nearly 50 sessions I am loathe to yet again trawl the Edinburgh complementary medicine clinics... read more shiny brochures... listen to more self-promotion... and potentially waste thousands more pounds.

So, come on, someone must know of a decent counsellor in Edinburgh? Please please please don't just give me a clinic name. I want a person. A person. A person. A person.
 
 
Ganesh
10:36 / 08.07.04
Meant to reply to this at the time, and have only just remembered. Used to live in Edinburgh, but I can't think of anyone specific - and that's not my focus here, anyway.

What I wanted to point out, instead, is that the catch-all term "depression" covers a multitude of states, from mild existential dissatisfaction through persistent unhappiness to severe-end, not-eating-or-drinking, about-to-die extreme melancholy. Anyone who says they "do depression" is likely pitching their stall at a particular segment of the spectrum, usually the mild-to-moderates. Even amongst those, however, depression is not a singular entity but multifactorial, and might include chemical, situational/lifestyle and personality elements - many of which are not particularly amenable to being changed by a counsellor.

It strikes me that, if you've spent time and money trawling a variety of counsellors, then perhaps investing faith in a single individual isn't the way to go. Without knowing more, it sounds a little passive - but then, I've no idea what previous counsellors fed back to you, or why those therapeutic relationships foundered.

What I'm saying is, I seriously doubt that any one counsellor - however charismatic - is going to provide you with a Magic Bullet. Your time might be better spent identifying the factors precipitating and perpetuating your particular mood-state, and working on them yourself, one-by-one.
 
 
Whale... Whale... Fish!
14:35 / 08.07.04
I also used to live in Edinburgh and although I wasn't seeing a counsellor, a close friend was. I'll try and find out the counsellor/clinic's name for you.
 
 
neukoln
19:06 / 08.07.04
Ganesh:

Thanks for your post. Half a dozen lithers had PM'ed me and hence I got that list of personal recommendations I was after. I am currently interviewing 3 or 4 of the more promising ones. So, I am pleased.

Re your Magic Bullet comment. I understand why you felt the need to warn/remind me that a counsellor, in isolation, is not the solution. It was a reasonable comment given that my post only mentioned requests for counsellor recommendations - and didn't refer to other resources I draw upon. It was a short post which had no need for including my management strategies. But self-management when you are crippled by depression is difficult/impossible hence the need for support... paid support.

Oh, and applying the same disclaimer I understand why you also felt the need to explain depression to me. I know where within the mental illness spectrum I reside, but telling the board was not necessary, given the reason for my post.

I take your comments in the spirit they were given, so thank you for them.

Whales:

Thank you, please do, the more the merrier. It is fascinating how many lithers have crazy aunties and messed-up friends!
 
 
Ganesh
19:43 / 08.07.04
I think I was hoping some of the previous counsellors would've at least given you pointers on which areas to work on. I also talked about the heterogeneous nature of the term 'depression' because some types are unlikely to improve with counselling alone.

In any case, I wish you luck.