Counselling in France

Article supplied by Counselling in France

Counselling in France is a website directory of counsellors, psychotherapists, hypnotists, psychologists and other types of therapist who live in France, either full-time or part-time and all offer to work in English.

The website was started in June 2003 by Anne, a professional counsellor who had worked for the NHS and within schools in England and who had moved to France to live in Limousin in February 2000. Its creation was prompted by the belief that just because people come to live in France, either for a better life for themselves and their families or for personal reasons of their own, perhaps to save a marriage or to move away from the rat race that living in the UK has become in many ways, that doesn’t mean that the need for counselling will go away or not ever be needed at some time in the future.

Counselling is usually something that people will think about for a long time before the need to talk to someone becomes desperate or a family situation reaches crisis point. Very often, people come to counselling when they have tried absolutely everything else and they have nowhere else to turn. In the UK, the route to a counsellor is fairly easy to take, although waiting lists can be long in the NHS. A person who decides to see a counsellor might ask their family doctor to refer them to see someone or maybe the doctor or health visitor will suggest counselling as an option. There may be a counsellor attached to the surgery or Health Centre or an appointment may be made with the community health team. If the family are having problems, they may all be seen by a family therapist or if there are marital problems, people can themselves go to Relate to arrange an appointment. If a child is having problems, a counsellor can see the child at school, in an NHS clinic or at home. If the issue is violence, rape or sexual abuse, there are professional networks firmly entrenched within the UK system to help – Womens Aid, Domestic Violence Against Men, Rape Crisis telephone lines, women’s refuges and Childline, likewise with bereavement and crisis care – Cruse and the Samaritans, among many others.

In France, the situation is much more difficult because of the language barrier. Imagine if you needed to see a counsellor because you were overwhelmed by feelings of anger and hopelessness or if your teenager was feeling suicidal. Where would you start? For those who have some French, the answer is to ask your doctor as they may be able to refer you to a therapist who might speak some English, but however good the therapist, therapy in your mother tongue is essential when you are feeling emotional , at the end of your tether and when you need what you are saying to be completely understood.

Counselling In France offers details of English-speaking therapists whom you can contact in complete confidentiality. They each have a web page telling you about themselves and their qualifications and how to get in touch with them. Most therapists will give a free assessment session, usually an hour, so that you can decide whether you get on with them and if you feel you would be able to trust them and talk to them about personal issues. Also, the therapist will be able to assess whether counselling is the right option for you or whether you might be better to see your doctor in France first, as you may be experiencing problems that would be best dealt with by a psychiatrist or mental health team. They may also consider telephone counselling, online or email counselling if you live too far away. You will often be asked to sign a counselling contract which are the guidelines and ground rules for counselling, usually outlining the confidentiality and boundaries that that particular counsellor offers.

The website also has a list of helplines for specific issues and phone numbers for lawyers who speak English. There is a Counselling Resources pages with workshops and courses, also suggested books for reading that may be helpful. There is a section on domestic violence and marital problems, on alcohol problems and a list of signs that may indicate a risk of suicide, self-help exercises and much more. Recently, www.womens-blog.com, a linked sister site, was started for women suffering all sorts of issues but domestic violence in particular.

There is a section for other therapies including, among others, hypnotists, NLP practitioners, therapists practising cognitive behavioural therapy and therapy for phobias as well as a linked sister site for holistic therapists www.alternative-therapists.com therapists

Also linked to this site is www.cancer-concerns.com which offers information and support in English to people suffering from cancer and their families.

Qualified therapists are always welcome to join the website and as Counselling In France is an association and non-profit-making, the cost to be on the website for a year is the cost of the monthly advertising in French News and the box advert in The Connexion, plus the website costs split between all the therapists on the website, although WizzWoo.com offer all hosting free of charge. There are currently 70 therapists of all different trainings and professional backgrounds on the website, but the ultimate aim is to make sure that wherever people live in France, they have someone close enough to them to see face-to-face. Therapists who are on the website can have online peer supervision through yet another linked sister site called www.talking-online.com and there are plans to provide a confidential chat room facility on that site where people can meet their counsellors online.

There is a new section which has just been introduced which asks people who had some training for volunteer listening ie Samaritans, Cruse, RapeLine, ChildLine etc can offer their skills as volunteer listeners. If you are one of these or a qualified therapist, please consider joining. You can contact Anne on anne@counsellinginfrance.com or by phoning +33 (0)870 448078.