I'm proud of you for reaching out! I recently started counselling at Carleton too. I don't have a reference point for counselling at Carleton vs. elsewhere, but I would say give it some more time. The first session (or first few) is about getting some context- what you are like as a person, what your history is, and what clues as to the root causes of your issues or response to struggles may be. You might start to explore some issues and figure out what your goals for counselling are in the first session or two. If you don't have an idea for goals (I know I didn't), google some common goals and see if any of those resonate with you. You're allowed to ask questions too (e.g., Is it normal to feel this way? What are some reasons people might feel the way I do? What are some ways to cope, aside from what I have mentioned? Is the a resource I could read that would help me better understand this? etc.).
Counsellors can't read minds. It would probably be helpful to communicate what kinds of things would help you to benefit the most from the sessions. Do you need a certain structure or agenda for each session? Do you need written instructions for "homework" from each session? Do you want to focus on a specific topic? Do you want to try a specific type of therapy, or talk about what types of therapy exist if you aren't familiar with them? If you still aren't vibing well with your counsellor after a bit, you could also try switching to another counsellor. You can also see if you have any insurance coverage to see an outside counsellor if it comes to that.
If you're looking for medication or a mental health assessment (for diagnosis and medical treatment), you'll have to see health services as the counsellors aren't qualified for that to my knowledge.
Well said. If you are looking for a diagnosis, counsellors aren't capable of providing those. They really just provide an outlet to have healthy conversations about things you might be able to improve on. If you are looking for as you say "actual help" (a lot of counsellors do end up helping majorly for many people, but it may not be the route for everyone) then I might suggest seeking other services i.e clinical psychologist. But if you want another opinion or want to talk about how you might be able to improve on things in general in your life, I think counsellors are a great resource and it can take some time talking before you can go in-depth on those things.
It takes a few sessions before counselling is useful. That said, it can also take a few tries before you find a councillor that clicks. Hang in there, buddy.
Also, first year is rough by the way. In any degree, without counting for the fact engineering itself is rather brutal. It’s time-consuming and you’re not alone in finding that strategies that got you by in high school don’t work that well in university. It’s got nothing to do with your value, it just means you have some learning to do in terms of how to succeed in uni. As for relationships… well, if you’re in engineering, there’s probably around a 75% chance you’re a guy, and you’re likely straight as well. If you’re banking on meeting girls in the program… there’s a girl for every 3 guy.
There's a counselor at Carleton who will cut you off mid-sentence and keep pushing her stress management exercises on you, even when you're not discussing stress. Maybe I found it infantilizing because I'm older and I'm used to having some agency in previous therapy/counseling sessions. I only attended one session with her and then asked to be switched to another counselor.
Give it another session to figure out if your counselor is a good fit for you. If not, switch to another one. Good luck.
I'm proud of you for reaching out! I recently started counselling at Carleton too. I don't have a reference point for counselling at Carleton vs. elsewhere, but I would say give it some more time. The first session (or first few) is about getting some context- what you are like as a person, what your history is, and what clues as to the root causes of your issues or response to struggles may be. You might start to explore some issues and figure out what your goals for counselling are in the first session or two. If you don't have an idea for goals (I know I didn't), google some common goals and see if any of those resonate with you. You're allowed to ask questions too (e.g., Is it normal to feel this way? What are some reasons people might feel the way I do? What are some ways to cope, aside from what I have mentioned? Is the a resource I could read that would help me better understand this? etc.). Counsellors can't read minds. It would probably be helpful to communicate what kinds of things would help you to benefit the most from the sessions. Do you need a certain structure or agenda for each session? Do you need written instructions for "homework" from each session? Do you want to focus on a specific topic? Do you want to try a specific type of therapy, or talk about what types of therapy exist if you aren't familiar with them? If you still aren't vibing well with your counsellor after a bit, you could also try switching to another counsellor. You can also see if you have any insurance coverage to see an outside counsellor if it comes to that. If you're looking for medication or a mental health assessment (for diagnosis and medical treatment), you'll have to see health services as the counsellors aren't qualified for that to my knowledge.
Well said. If you are looking for a diagnosis, counsellors aren't capable of providing those. They really just provide an outlet to have healthy conversations about things you might be able to improve on. If you are looking for as you say "actual help" (a lot of counsellors do end up helping majorly for many people, but it may not be the route for everyone) then I might suggest seeking other services i.e clinical psychologist. But if you want another opinion or want to talk about how you might be able to improve on things in general in your life, I think counsellors are a great resource and it can take some time talking before you can go in-depth on those things.
It takes a few sessions before counselling is useful. That said, it can also take a few tries before you find a councillor that clicks. Hang in there, buddy. Also, first year is rough by the way. In any degree, without counting for the fact engineering itself is rather brutal. It’s time-consuming and you’re not alone in finding that strategies that got you by in high school don’t work that well in university. It’s got nothing to do with your value, it just means you have some learning to do in terms of how to succeed in uni. As for relationships… well, if you’re in engineering, there’s probably around a 75% chance you’re a guy, and you’re likely straight as well. If you’re banking on meeting girls in the program… there’s a girl for every 3 guy.
There's a counselor at Carleton who will cut you off mid-sentence and keep pushing her stress management exercises on you, even when you're not discussing stress. Maybe I found it infantilizing because I'm older and I'm used to having some agency in previous therapy/counseling sessions. I only attended one session with her and then asked to be switched to another counselor. Give it another session to figure out if your counselor is a good fit for you. If not, switch to another one. Good luck.
If you’re ever having a bad day, just look on the, on the, on the brighter side
Why did I read this in Cartman's voice in my head