Stories Archives - Wellspring Therapy & Training

Cara’s Story – dealing with work stress

October 1, 2021 By wellspring

I came to Wellspring after I’d experienced a kind of mental breakdown due to work stress.

I was diagnosed with recurrent depression. Although I’d had episodes of depression after the birth of my children, this was the first time that I’d suffered depression because of work. And it wasn’t just stress, I felt myself spiralling into a state of anxiety. It was getting to the point where stuff at work was affecting my everyday life, my time with my kids and my life at home. Things were getting really difficult and so I thought counselling might help.

I had my sessions remotely which worked well. At first, I wasn’t sure what it would be like doing counselling online, but I was quite surprised by how easy it was to engage in the sessions and to open up, even though we were communicating via a screen.

I found the counselling sessions such a supportive space. It was a chance to offload and make sense of things. Having somewhere to come every week was a helpful way of monitoring my progress. I knew that each week I was going be talking to someone, which helped me to be more reflective and to tune into how I was feeling throughout the week. It was really easy to talk to my counsellor. He very kind, patient, and easy to talk to – he completely exceeded my expectations. The counselling sessions also gave me some consistency, which is what I needed at the time.

Talking to somebody gave me the confidence to change my job and the field I worked in. It was something I thought I could never do. My counsellor didn’t tell me what to do, but it was so helpful to sound things out.

It gave me a sense of confidence and empowered me to take control. Counselling also gave me skills and techniques to manage my feelings in the moment.

Since having a mental health crisis and having counselling, I actually feel like my mental health is better than it has been in years. It was so helpful to have the time to reflect during my counselling sessions. As a result, I take better care of my mental health day-to-day than I have ever before and it’s made such a difference.

For some people, there’s still stigma around the idea of getting counselling. There can be so many ‘what ifs’ –and wondering what others might think. But if you are struggling with mental health problems, I would encourage you to get in touch with Wellspring. It genuinely is for everybody – whatever your faith, whether you are religious or not. It’s also great that Wellspring’s counselling services are affordable as money worries and mental health problems often go hand in hand. Just reaching out to that have that initial conversation is the first and biggest step. It’s friendly, it’s welcoming, and it really has been life-changing for me.

If you would like to help us support more people like Cara, you can set up a regular donation over on our Donate Page. Thank you.

And if you are interested in exploring the possibility of counselling for yourself, please find out more about the Counselling Services we offer here .

Leah shares her counselling story

August 2, 2021 By wellspring

Leah came to Wellspring earlier this year and here she shares about her counselling journey.

(Client and counsellor name have been changed to maintain confidentiality.)

I decided to access Wellspring’s service when I started experiencing sudden, intermittent bouts of depression. Sometimes, I would feel very tearful, and although it would pass, these bouts continued for about twice a month for a few months. I wasn’t sure if it was the result of being in lockdown. I also knew that I had some issues from my childhood that were constantly on my mind.

The counselling sessions at Wellspring were absolutely excellent. I was relieved that there was a service that I could access. I’d had some counselling many years ago, but I got a much better outcome this time than I had before.

My counsellor reassured me that my thoughts and feelings were normal and that lots of people have these problems. I was able to accept my past and to stop thinking about it all the time. Since my counselling sessions, I feel completely positive. The past is dealt with and it’s no longer on my mind.

I have already told a couple of friends about my great experience at Wellspring. The counselling has been very helpful.

If you would like to help us support more people like Leah, you can set up a regular donation over on our Donate Page. Thank you.

And if you are interested in exploring the possibility of counselling for yourself, please find out more about the Counselling Services we offer here .

Matt shares his counselling story

May 14, 2021 By wellspring

**Matt * came to Wellspring last year and here he shares about his counselling journey and how it has helped him through the lockdowns of the past year.**

My Counselling Journey – by Matt (Client name has been changed to maintain confidentiality.)

I contacted Wellspring to talk about my mum’s death when I was younger, and my reluctant journey into parenthood. I loved my kids, but I also loved my own time and freedom, and the stuff that came with being a dad was frequently a source of resentment. It was causing some serious relationship issues for me and my wife too, although I didn’t twig how deep those were when I began.

Over the course of a year, my counsellor helped me to chip away at some firmly entrenched behavioural traits. We tried a range of different approaches – sometimes using props, often just talking around an issue from various angles. I found the sessions enjoyable, challenging at points, and occasionally revelatory and exhilarating.

The centre was a huge support. A very safe and calm atmosphere on entering, and the donation-based costs are really a remarkable thing. It’s what made me decide to attend; otherwise it would have been too expensive.

Over the course of that year, I became quite a lot closer to my memories of my mum, which I had sealed off. I’ve taken quite a few steps to making her memory an active part of my life – something I’ll be working on for a long time, I’m sure, but the counselling kicked that process off.

Much more significant is the progress I made with being a dad: my counsellor suggested some baby steps in this area, and bit by bit, everything has become much more natural and instinctive, and my relationship with my children has gone from strength to strength. I love them more now. I’ve actually felt my love for them grow tangibly, feeling more tender and protective and kindly, feeling the happiness and joy that can come from simply being with them.

It also paved the way for my wife and I to embark upon relationship counselling. She’s had her own individual counselling too, and the time we’d both spent opening up individually gave us a language and a framework which created enough of a sense of safety to broach some deeply buried unspoken subjects.

Now many months into a Coronavirus lockdown with two toddlers – which must be the most intense of situations for an unhappy family – it’s really dawning on us just how valuable Wellspring has been for our lives.

We’re in a truly different place because of the work done there.

We feel much closer together as a couple and as a family, with plenty still to resolve and build on but an increasingly strong foundation from which to do it.

If you would like to help us support more people like Matt, you can set up a regular donation over on our Donate Page. Thank you.

Wellspring’s New Animation

April 19, 2021 By wellspring

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and to share one of our client stories with you in this new Wellspring animation. You can read Becky’s* full story here.

Could you help us to support more people like Becky?

You can donate to our work as a one-off or sign up to give regularly on our Donate page.

If you would like to refer yourself for counselling, please use the link at the bottom of our Therapy page.

Wellspring House has now re-opened for a limited number of face-to-face counselling sessions. Zoom and telephone counselling are continuing to take place. Most of our clients live within a radius of up to 20 miles. However, if you live outside this area (but still in the UK) and do not have access to a local counselling service, you can still contact us through the online form as we do have capacity to see a limited number of adults from outside the area.

See our Resources page for more support and links.

*The client and counsellor name in the animation have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

My Counselling Sessions during COVID

December 21, 2020 By wellspring

COVID has impacted the mental health of many young people in UK.

According to GOV UK’s research and analysis of mental health amongst children and young people, there is evidence to suggest that the pandemic has negatively affected the mental health and wellbeing of many young people with existing mental health conditions. (Although it is not yet possible to make a full, meaningful comparison to recent pre-March 2020 measures.) (1)

**One of our youth clients, Charlotte*, told us about the difficulties she’s faced. And how counselling has helped her through 2020.**

“During Covid-19 my counselling sessions moved onto Zoom. When everything else stopped, this was the one thing that continued. That one hour per week felt safe and familiar whilst everything else was chaotic.

My mum worked on the front line during Covid. There were nights when I felt really scared about what might happen. She knew I was worried, but I felt I could share my feelings more openly with my counsellor. I felt like my mum already had enough worries on her plate. These sessions helped me to cope.

I knew I could tell my counsellor what I was feeling and it would not upset her. These sessions helped me understand things better. I have learnt how to relax and about what things I can do to help me keep on top of everything. Since the counselling sessions I have been more able to cope with my school work, I have been able to talk more freely, I have stopped self-harming, had fewer panic attacks, and have started taking better care of myself. I am feeling much more optimistic about my future.”

If you would like to help us support more people like Charlotte, you can set up a regular donation over on our Donate Page. Thank you.

And if you are interested in exploring the possibility of counselling for yourself, please find out more about the Counselling Services we offer here.

* Name changed to protect privacy.

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-mental-health-and-wellbeing-surveillance-report/7-children-and-young-people