counselling at ycentral

for any emergencies please call 000 or for mental health crisis call central intake on 4320-3500

Drop into:  Suite 4, Level 2. 237 Mann Street (Gateway Building), Gosford, NSW phone: (02) 4304 7870

when should I see a Counsellor?
when something is not quite right. This might include:

• feeling down, depressed or anxious

• not coping at school, work or home

• not sleeping well or too much

• finding it hard to concentrate

• being bullied or hurt by others

• being worried about drinking or drug use
  

how can counselling help?

Counselling is aimed at helping you become the person you want to be. It’s an opportunity to share concerns with another person to work out what issues are causing you concern and what things might need to change in order to improve the situation you are in. Sharing ideas in an open fashion enables the person to understand the factors leading to them feeling sad, angry, or worried.

what do Counsellors do?

Counsellors are trained to help people come up with their own solutions. They might assist by giving you information to help you make better choices and decisions. They can assist you to develop skills to make positive changes. They can also help identify barriers that may be preventing you from making these positive changes.

is what I talk about kept private?

Confidentiality is about keeping your information private and anything you say or do is not shared with anyone else. Confidentiality is really important in counselling as you need to feel you can trust the person you’re talking to.

Whilst confidentiality is important there are times when a health professional might need to tell someone if they are worried about the person’s safety. If they feel you might be at risk of harming yourself or you are harming or being harmed by other people, they have a legal obligation under the Mental Health Act or Child Protection legislation to let someone know of their concern. This is done to protect your safety and is usually discussed with you by your counsellor.

complaints

Your right to privacy is protected by the law in the Privacy Act and counsellors are trained in the importance of confidentiality. If a counsellor breaks confidentiality, complaints can be make to the organisation they work for and to the counsellors professional registration body eg. the NSW Psychologists Registration Board if the counsellor is a Psychologist.

does age make a difference?

In NSW if you are 16 and above you have the legal right to receive medical or counselling assistance. If you are aged 14-16 years you are able to get health assistance if the treating professional believes that you are mature enough to give knowledgeable consent. They may encourage you to discuss the issue with your parents/guardian. Feel free to discuss your concerns with your health worker. For more information about legal age for confidential health care go to  lawstuff.

how can I get the most out of counselling?

• Think about the things you might want to talk about with your counsellor and the changes you might want to make in your life
• Be prepared that you might get upset talking about some sensitive issues
• Be aware that your counsellor might ask you lots of questions about yourself, your family and your current situation
• Your counsellor may ask you to try different ways of doing things between sessions
• Be prepared that things might change slowly and that things might even get worse before they get better. It can sometimes take a while to sort out a long standing difficulty
• Find out more about your problem by reading books or going to credible websites, so that you can ask your counsellor any questions you might have. Your counsellor should be able to suggest books or websites with good, up to date information
  

are there any risks involved with counselling?

Sometimes when you see a Counsellor you might get upset talking about some sensitive things especially if you haven’t talked about them before. If you are worried about how counselling is going, let your counsellor know. If you don’t feel you are making progress you can always see another counsellor, but you have to be careful that you are not changing just because it’s getting difficult talking about things. It’s important to trust your counsellor and feel you can work with them. If not don’t hesitate to ask friends, family or other health workers to get someone else recommended to you.