| “After worrying about my relationship with my boyfriend for a few days I finally plucked up the courage to call No 5 – my best friend had given me the number and told me how much she had been helped by a counsellor there. The lady that answered the phone was very friendly and booked me an appointment for the next day. All I had to give was my name and mobile number which was a relief as I knew I didn't want my parents to find out.”
“I remember being really nervous about actually going to my appointment. When I walked into the building I was greeted by a member of staff who showed me in and offered me a drink. I was a little early but was reassured that the counsellor would be ready for me as soon as possible. The waiting room had lots of interesting leaflets in about sex and relationships and as I was the only person in there I thought I'd take a couple to read later.”
“After a few minutes the counsellor came and introduced himself to me and took me to a counselling room. He seemed very nice and began by explaining about confidentiality - he said that he wouldn't tell anyone what I said except the person that supervises him or unless he felt I was going to harm someone or was in danger of being harmed myself. But he said he would always let me know about anything he needed to do. This made me feel much better. He then went on to explain how counselling works, how often we could meet and how long our meetings would last for.”
“I found it really easy to talk to my counsellor – he asked me a few questions and really knew how I felt and what I was going through. And before I knew it the counsellor told me the session was nearly over. It was so good to have someone listen to me and understand what I was going through – my friends have tried but they are all too involved trying to get their own boyfriends. And I could never tell my mum about these sorts of things!”
|
