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Robertc160882
26-01-07, 10:18
Hi Everyone,

I have what I believe is a great idea for the site and its members and would like some feedback on wither members think this is something that may be useful and also to see if anyone wants to assist me.

Basically what I’m hoping to do is to send an email shot to over 5700 counsellors and Psychotherapist’s asking them if they would be willing to provide free telephone support to no more panic members. The list of counsellors can be found on the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy website: http://www.bacp.co.uk/seeking_therapist/index.html .

I wouldn’t be looking for them to free up anymore than say 2 hours per week as you have to remember they would be doing this unpaid. I also expect that the feedback would be good out of the 5700 counsellors that would be emailed.

Once they come back and say they want to be involved I would intend to use a site called http://www.adsafety.com/ the site allows you to set up 0870 numbers etc and forward them on to landline and mobile numbers. The best thing about this site is that you can specify the day of the week and the time that the number would be diverted so the call would only get put through to the counsellor on the day and time they are free.

Obviously once we set all this up we would publish the numbers and days and time they are free on no more panic so the members know who to call and when for free support.

I would be delighted to hear from members either wishing to offer support or give me feedback on wither they would use this service and if they think it is a good idea.

Robert

Robertc160882
26-01-07, 12:32
Hi All,

It is not often that I feel let down but I have to say the fact that I have little support from members on this subject and also: Dr Cecilia d'Felice (Important) (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=16901) has left me disheartened.

It seems a lot of members wish to read the post but not support or even say I think this is a bad idea. Obviously what is a little annoying is that I would be doing this in my free time and it would be and is for the benefit of members of the forum/no more panic.

Although I have had support from administrators it is the members who count so next time you read a post that could benefit everyone have a think it does only take two moments to reply.

Robert

jodie
26-01-07, 12:55
hi robert

i think this is a brill idea and very good of you to do for everyone in your free time .
well done :D

jodie xx

Piglet
26-01-07, 12:56
Hi Robert,

I am so sorry that you felt let down by the amount of response you have had.

In essence it sounds a good idea - have you spoken to Nic (Nomorepanic) at all for her input.

I wonder if you haven't had much response because people aren't sure quite what response you want - maybe they don't quite understand how it would work etc etc.

It is very kind of you to consider ways to help so don't be put off by the response but maybe ask for it in a more direct way - perhaps as a poll where members can state yes or no!!

Regards

Piglet :)

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

Robertc160882
26-01-07, 13:16
Hi,

Thanks for your response’s so far and agree maybe people aren’t sure how to respond but all I was looking for was some encouragement from fellow members and some support.

Piglet I have spoken to Nic about other idea i.e. getting a leading mental health Dr to come on and help the site and she was very supportive and she currently has all the details to contact the Dr to take thing forward.

As she is snowed under I haven’t yet ran this idea past her as of yet but I think she would be silly to think this isn’t a good idea one thing everyone needs is professional support. As a sales person I convince people all day long to go along with my ideas and the fact that I managed to get Dr Cecilia d'Felice shows that I have a way of achieving things like this and she has agreed to do this free of charge.

I have great believe in my abilities and I don’t think I would encounter any problems in managing to get at least 100-150 counsellors on board to do a helpline that would run itself once it is set up.

Robert

Under~The~Stars
26-01-07, 13:34
Hi Robert,

I think that is a really great thing you are proposing to try and do and would be a great help for all members. We would really appreciate it :D

You have shown great initiative and I wish you the best of luck :D If you need a help with anything then give me a shout and if I can help then I will.

Louise xxx

seeker
26-01-07, 14:03
i think it is a good idea, but I also wonder about how many of them would actually be willing to do it for free - after all, many counsellors are people who suffered themselves and want to help others. however, they also have to earn a living! It would be worth a go, but I am not optimistic about a good response - sorry robert!

Robertc160882
26-01-07, 14:25
Hi Seeker,

Thanks for your response it is always good to receive good and bad feedback and the bad feedback always makes me more determined to prove people wrong.

I think if I said a week ago I was proposing to get Dr Cecilia d'Felice to come on board your response may have been the same, however she has agreed to do it free of charge and she probably charges a nice hourly rate.

Robert

EebyJeeby
26-01-07, 14:46
Hi Robert,

It certainly seems like a very interesting idea and you have put a great deal of thought into it to work out the logistics. Great to see such enthusiasm too!

I think in principle it is a smashing idea. I'm not sure how many counsellors you would get on board for free, but you'll never find out unless you try eh!

The crucial thing here is that you need to collaborate with Nicola on this as she owns the site, together with its future direction. As you are already aware, she is tied up with other matters at the moment, so may not be able to give you her full attention just yet.

However, this is essentially a business proposition and the details would need to be discussed offline. 0870 numbers are revenue-generating numbers for a start, so you'd have to clarify your intentions as regards the financial implications for NMP members and what's in it for you (being a salesman)...

Eeb

Robertc160882
26-01-07, 14:54
Hi Eby,

Thanks for your kind support.

With regards to discussing this with Nicola this is what I would plan to do as she does own the site etc and that’s why I didn’t just run with the idea. As it stands I would happily run with it today as I know I have the basic concept right and I’m confident of the outcome.

As for the cost revenue for 0870 number with the particular site I mentioned there is no generated revenue for me or no more panic that is apparent when you read the adsafety site. Principally I would like 0800 numbers but this is the only site that lets you set numbers up instantly and set time and date restriction on them so this is why I went this site. Also they provide a free answer phone service which is a great tool enabling counsellors to return calls etc.

The cost of a 0870 call for 30 minutes agaisnt the cost of a counsellor 30 mins is far better

As a sales person I wouldn’t be looking for anything from it and if any one can suggest another site that supply 0800 numbers that allow you to set time restriction I would go for it.

In my day job I run a fairly successful business so believe me I’m not in this for the money.

Robert

EebyJeeby
26-01-07, 15:09
Hi Robert,

Thanks for your reply. I'm sure when Nicola is free, she'll have a good look at what's what with your suggestions.

Out of interest, would you see these counselling sessions as one-off crisis management sessions or would people be able to book a "course" of treatment with the same counsellor, which, after all, is recognised as more beneficial in the long run?

I guess it would depend on the number of counsellors and the number of subscribers, but I'm interested in your thoughts on how you envisage that being managed.

Eeb :-)

Robertc160882
26-01-07, 15:21
He Ebey,

They way I would outline a proposal for it to work is, that we have a list of counsellors numbers i.e. 0870 something and the date and time they are free. What would be recommended is if you plan to call a counsellor the call the same one as you have done before.

I would be looking at covering both short term crisis management and on going treatment. Each counsellor would supply the dates and times at etc but at least two hours of this would not be put on the web and it would be used for them to book patients in for follow up appointments etc.

I have already spoken to a few counsellors who are delighted to take part and also happy with the way I suggested it would run.

Robert

carldourish
26-01-07, 15:54
Hi Robert,

In principle it sounds a great idea! But as a therapist myself time is very restricted. This is the first time I've managed to get on the site for almost 2 month. I travel alot doing workshops.

The people on this site who know me well, will tell you that i'm not a great believer of conventional counselling, way to slow for my liking. I personal get better counselling from my 11 year old son, or tells it like it is. I don't really require someone who as spent 3 years learning to paraphrase to counsell me. However I could see the benefit off it. Don't forget that you will be competing with the like off Samartians, find a voice, home start, Mind, rethink the list is endless.

The main issue is could I spare 2 hours roughly a week. For me personal, the answer would be 'NO' Don't forget most counsellors our self-employed, so do they offer roughly two hours of free therapy, or gain two hours of paid therapy.

Maybe you could try trainee therapist, who require personal 1-1 training work for their assignments, just a thought.

Anyway, good luck with the venture.

Carl

Coni
26-01-07, 16:52
Hi Robert,

I think this is a good idea though I'm not sure about the practicalities of organising and running this (though that says more about my organisational skills and brain capacity than the idea itself lol!).

Sorry you've been disappointed by the response, but please dont be disheartened....maybe people can only go online at certain times (Ive two teenage sons so have to sneak online when they are not around!)...or maybe at work during the day. I'm sure this will generate lots more interest.

Good luck and take care

Coni X

belly
28-01-07, 23:49
hi robert,i have to say that i disagree with you on some of your points.Such as 'one thing everyone needs is professional support',and that piglet would be 'silly' to think its not a good idea.I dont think that what everyone needs is professional support.Some people do fine without it,or use self help techniques etc.You seem ver convinced it would be a good idea,although you come across as being a bit arrogant with it.Im sure it may help many members,but to say that piglet is silly if she doesnt think its a good idea is unfair and unwarrented.Telephone support can be useful to people in crisis yes,but there are a number of issues with telephone counselling that may cause problems to people.The lack of face to face counselling means that what the counsellor says may be misinterpreted according to how the client perceives the tone of the counsellors words,and vice versa.Body language cannot be conveyed.These issues need to be considered carefully,before running a service of this kind.From you last post on here,it sounds like you want plaudits for giving up your own time.While it is admirable,please consider that your first post and last post were on the same day,often it takes more times than that for people to read and reply to posts on the forum,there are rather a lot! It does sound like you are telling members off for not replying to your post,and not supporting your idea.Maybe be a bit gentler in your approach to members on here,dont forget that many people suffer from anxiety already!

eeyorelover
29-01-07, 05:41
I honestly think that it is a great idea. I personally know what it is like to go at anxiety alone without the help of 'professionals'. Mostly due to the fact that 9 times out of 10 all any doc wants to do is give some new miracle pill that they say will 'cure' the anxiety. Most of you who know me know that I was dependant on Xanax for many years and since that I have been horribly medicine phobic!!!

Having counsellors on board who know about anxiety and can help to guide people thru the process of overcoming it would be an exciting addition and I for one think that it would be wonderful.
That being said I do agree that because of the fact that most counsellors are self employed - it's going to be hard to find anyone who has the time to commit to such an endevour.
Also I don't think that he was calling Piglet 'silly.

He said....
"Piglet I have spoken to Nic about other idea i.e. getting a leading mental health Dr to come on and help the site and she was very supportive and she currently has all the details to contact the Dr to take thing forward.

As she is snowed under I haven’t yet ran this idea past her as of yet but I think she would be silly to think this isn’t a good idea one thing everyone needs is professional support. "

I don't think that any offense was meant by the comment. I think that it was however a poor choice of the word 'silly'. Who among us hasn't used a word or phrase and later looked back on it and realised that it didn't quite convey what we were trying to say.
I think that all he was trying to say is that everyone would agree that it is a good idea.
I for one do think that it is a very good idea - in theory. I just don't know if it's one that can be worked out logisticly.
xxx
Sandy

Robertc160882
29-01-07, 09:57
Hi Belly,

Many thanks for your feedback.

I feel it is only fair that I have the opportunity to answer your concerns and the points that you raised.

Firstly you commented that I said one thing everyone needs is professional support' this comment if you read it properly I’m meaning everyone would welcome some kind of support if they didn’t there would'nt be various mental health helplines out there I appreciate some people may not need that kind of assistance.

piglet would be 'silly' to think its not a good idea, what I actually said was Piglet I have spoken to Nic about other idea i.e. getting a leading mental health Dr to come on and help the site and she was very supportive and she currently has all the details to contact the Dr to take thing forward.

As she is snowed under I haven’t yet ran this idea past her as of yet but I think she would be silly to think this isn’t a good idea one thing everyone needs is professional support. "

Maybe the word silly was the wrong choice of word but hey we all use some wrong words do we not but the general idea I was putting across is that I’m sure she would recognise it is a good idea.

I would like to answer another point I’m not looking for plaudits for giving up my own time what I was looking for was feedback not plaudits. It is a shame that someone would go in to such details and try carry out a character assassination on me without even a quick pm to ask me about points of concern.

The last point is I’m not telling people of for not supporting my idea as I said above I was only looking for feedback again this has been misinterpreted to suit an argument.

I would however like to thank you for your valid points suck as the problems with telephone counselling and this is something I thought through and I personally think the good point out way the bad points.

It is a shame as I said that people choose to go down the route of been personal when creating arguments and I’m sure other members will agree your post was a little un called for.

Robert

jacq
29-01-07, 10:40
hi robert, i think in principal this sort of help line is a good idea but cant see it working in this setting, most people when having a crisis want someone they can talk to straight away which is why no more panic is so popular you get instant support in the chat room and good advice from people who are suffering exactly the same as you on the advice boards. i would worry that someone could have trouble getting a counselor when they need it if their counselor was not due on call at that time. on a more personal level in my area at the moment there is one counseling service available through the nhs and as i dont work and have agraphobia i cant afford to pay privately, the nhs service has on average a 3-6 months wait just for a referal and it would be quite annoying that some of these profesionals have never thought of giving there help to the already over stretched nhs and help the waiting lists come down quicker.

courage doesn't always roar, sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying "i will try again tomorrow"

Robertc160882
29-01-07, 10:49
Hi Jaq,

Thanks for your reply.

The counselling service would not be aimed at replacing the site people would be able to get the same support as always.

I did a test run for research purposes and out of 100, I contacted 24 came back and said they would do it. As you can imagine if I was to send an email out to the rest of the 5700 we would most likely get a good response and be able to provide many counsellors to cover lots of hours meaning no one should be left waiting.

Please do mistake this for me been arrogant as I have been called that for in another post which was uncalled for but it is easy for passion to be mistaken for arrogance isn’t it. I’m passionate about this and if I didn’t think it would work I would try get it off the ground.

The reason most of them buy in to the idea is the see the good work that has been achieved with the site and to be honest it isn’t down to any one other than Nic and that she needs to be applauded on. Nic has achieved so much with this site and anyone I discuss it with after they have looked at the site are warmed by the fact she has set it up and see the good work it is achieving.



Regards


Robert

nomorepanic
29-01-07, 19:40
Robert

Sorry for not replying earlier. I am finally sorted with my job so can devote some time to things on here that need replying to.

I have read all the posts on here so thought I would have my say now.

I think it is an excellent idea and as the saying goes "you don't know until you try".

If you only get a handful of counsellors then it is better than none isn't it?

When you do the mail shot can you please mention that the site has NHS acreditation from Antony Sheehan (Director of Care Services, The Department of Health) and has also being checked out by the charity No Panic.

Also you may want to ask if any of them would be prepared to do a Live Chat one evening as well - that is always popular.

I have taken no offence at the word "silly" atall.

Let us know how it goes for you and if you have any more thoughts on how to run it.

Good luck with it Robert and thanks for taking the time to do this for NMP.




Nicola

People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel

Robertc160882
29-01-07, 20:13
Hi Nic,

Thanks for your response I knew you would get around to it when everything had settled down.

As you said if you don’t try you won’t know and a handful is better than none so all I need now is someone to help pull all the email addresses of the BACP website and we are off. Pulling the email addresses of is the hard part and I won’t be able to do this until later this week.

Thanks for the info regarding the NHS accreditation that may help me sell the idea but o think the concept will allow us to gain more than a few. My trial run ahs already got us 20 so watch this space.

Thanks for all the support everyone.

Robert

Lindalou64
30-01-07, 16:55
helo robert,
I think that is a great idea and what a wonderful man to think of others here for that...some people have to realize others cant leave there homes to see a councelor and that is very frustrating to us ....i live in the usa so i cant go for it but if i did im behind you 100% and still am tho........i wish you all the luck this can work and im sure others would be very greatful for it........you got a good heart to think of others robert.i hope it all works out.......best to ya............Linda[8D]

Robertc160882
31-01-07, 11:36
Hi Lindalou64,

Many thanks for your kind note…..

I noted your comment regarding members who struggle to leave there homes to attend counsellors and this is why I wanted to do this. The counselling will help those who are most vulnerable and I truly believe it will benefit the forum and it members.

You comments were so kind and ones that make me realise the reason I wanted to do this in the first place.

Many thanks


Robert

davidthegnome
02-02-07, 23:24
Robert,

I'm a new member, but I want to thank you all the same for making a sincere effort to help all of us some more and provide more resources for us. You're a really good guy and seem like a real go-getter. Your idea sounds really good too, I'd definitely go with it.

For myself and for all of us who go through anxiety or panic attacks I just want to say thanks for really caring. I'm eager to be involved with whatever it is you want to do.

God Bless you Robert,

David