Would you go for medication as well as counselling or try one first?

[Aubreyrose]

I am suposed to be calling a private counsellor tomorriw to arrange a day to start. I can't decide if I should go back to my gp as well and ask for medication. I was offered it last time but refused but now think it was a mistake.

Would you recommend trying the counselling first or just doing both at the saw time?

Also since I am now paying for counselling rather than waiting for the nhs one do I need to tell my gp or would it be best to keep it to myself until I know if it is any good?

[SarahH]

If you can afford it do the counselling first. Then see how you feel after a couple of months. If you still feel bad then try the meds as well. There is absolutely no reason why you cannot tell your Dr about private counselling if/when you see him about the meds.
#sarah

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think it depends on the intensity of your anxiety. If you could not cope with trying to work on your anxiety, then medication can be useful.

Otherwise, I would say got for therapy first and see what happens. Your GP will always be open to the medication route anyway.

You are under no obligation to tell your GP, but I agree with Sarah that you should tell him. If nothing else, it feeds back about the frustration of delays in the NHS and/or your commitment to recovery in that you are willing to put money behind it. I reached a point where I was between services and said I would pay for therapy to bridge the gap and whilst it wasn't my intention, it did cause some escalaltion which speeded up the NHS service so I didn't need to pay anymore. (I had been delayed by 2 months with no explanation so should have already been in therapy if someone had done their job right! I was adamant I didn't want to advance up the queue as it would unfair on someone else like me).

Have you had advice on how to get counselling/therapy in the UK? Its an unregulated sector so my therapist advised to use the BACP register as their registrants are professional supervised as opposed to many of these other associations which have dubious links to training companies or very lax standards to join. You can literally study 100 hours online, obtain indemnity insurance and start a service up until the current Bill of Parliament becomes an Act to stop this.

There are other more professional bodies like BACP though but its recommended to get advice on which body to use to find a counsellor/therapist.

[MrAndy]

personally I would tackle it from both angles and do both ,meds arent a cure all and nor is counselling but they both help in different ways.
Discussing it with your doctor makes sense ,you should be open and give them as much information of your condition as you can
I got into a good group for cbt counselling within two weeks from self refering online at rethink.org ,might be worth checking out if there is a group in your area

[ForGallifrey]

Hello,

The best and most successful method of treatment is meds + therapy. If you are going to try one or the other first, I would advise going to therapy first. Then, with your therapist's help, you can try the medicine if you like.