2.2 The importance of professional help

The following activity will take you through an example of how seeking professional help can really improve some people’s mental health.

Activity 5: Understanding the importance of professional help

In the first clip John Goss, a professional counsellor talks about the issues he listens to when a young person comes to see him.

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Transcript: Video 3: John Goss and the issues young people face.

JOHN

So people can be affected by various issues in different ways. And for some people the things can be quite a knock to their self-esteem. I think adolescence it’s a challenging time anyway. So it’s not unusual for things like self-confidence to be mentioned or come into the counseling room. Sometimes other issues such as body image or feeling that they have to be-- meet certain expectations can also be a particular challenge for some people.

Many young people may look fine on the surface, but quite often when they come to me, we often see issues like anxiety. People are worried. Worry is another big issue for some people. Sometimes compulsions are coming into play. So underneath the surface there could be various things going on. Depression may also be another factor. So while things may look fine when someone comes to me, there may be various issues or challenges that they are facing, that they start to reveal, and start to feel that they can talk about.

End transcript: Video 3: John Goss and the issues young people face.

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Video 3: John Goss and the issues young people face.

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Now listen to the following audio and make a note of the things that this mum found to be important about her families work with a professional therapist.

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Transcript: Audio 2

SPEAKER 1

Having the support from professionals and a toolbox of-- you know, using more worry time, for example-- when she was coming through the treatment, to have a dedicated worry time of the day, and sit and listen to the worries. And they tried to coach [INAUDIBLE] keep that worry time fenced off from the rest of the time.

What she was crucial at was helping us see what she described as the green shoots of progress. And we became entrenched in it as well, and couldn’t see that these little baby steps that she was taking-- going out with a friend, going out for a walk, the progress steps that she was making-- how they were bringing her through to recovery.

So that was really important, that we were able to see that. But working with a professional was important.

End transcript: Audio 2

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Audio 2

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Answer

John stresses that within the counselling room it is possible for young people to describe things that they may be hiding from others as they attempt to ‘look fine’ on the surface. This mum initially describes the importance of one the techniques they were taught to use with their daughter as part of the CBT, this was called ‘worry time’ and it was a period of time fenced off from the rest of the day in which they would discuss with their daughter any ongoing concerns she had. But she also highlights how crucial the therapist was in highlighting the progress steps that she was making, and how this was taking her through to recovery. It was this progress that helped the family see what the therapist described as the ‘green shoots’ and how things were improving.

A therapist will find ways of intercepting and challenging the relationships between thoughts, feelings and behaviours so that different thought patterns are created and reinforced. By encouraging reinterpretation of a young person’s responses to certain triggers, the practitioner can help to break the cycle of unhelpful responses. If CBT doesn’t work, there are other types of therapy available such as person-centred counselling. You can find out more about these different types of therapy via the NHS website [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .

Sometimes other forms of treatment are needed. You will learn more about medical interventions in the next section.