Important: Counselling Others
 

Hello all! SF staff wanted me to post an important message about counselling members who visit the site. Please note that for legal reasons, and to protect the site, members cannot provide counsel to others on the site.



Staff will have some guidelines posted soon to help clarify what constitutes counselling.


If you have any questions or concerns, please do reach out to a staff member.

Thank you so much for your understanding:hug2:

Advising and counselling are two very different things. Giving advice is letting people know what you think is best for them, while counselling is allowing people to explore and decide what is best for them.

Plus you have to train to be a counsellor. where as you don't to give Advice
Hope this clears it up


Namaste

counselling and advice
 

Counselling is the field of the trained professional.

A website is anyway unlikely to be a suitable medium for counselling even if it were by a trained, qualified professional. More than that, a website such as this is not intended to be used in such a way.

I make it my rule not to offer advice unless advice has been asked. Secondly I need to understand exactly what's being asked and why. Thirdly I have to be sure I have relevant knowledge and/or experience.

Failing the above I may offer suggestions for consideration. That way the individual judges for herself whether my suggestions meet her needs.

One of the busiest organisations that people contact when at their lowest ebb is the Samaritans and yet no qualifications or experience are required to man the phone lines.

Be that as it may, Samaritans aren't just left by themselves to answer the telephone helplines. Staff are trained and supported in trying to help individuals in the most desperate need.

Neither do they work through website forum pages.

I think I would prefer the forum/email format for some problems,I am sure groups like the Samaritans do this via live chat,which is also a messaging type of service.

I also think there would be some positives for organinsations in using the forum system(I know they have one for dementia sufferers)as you could grow to know who to trust to handle certain problems and also things will be out in the open eg I have had many dealings with the NHS and believe some of the individuals were very cruel and could have easily made others in my situation much worse,but in open forum I don't think they would get away with this or even attempt it.I have been looking for such open forums and came upon 'NHS networks' which at first sounded ideal but realised it is for NHS employees only-(a bit off topic but worth mentioning is there are over a million lawsuits against the NHS and many many probems,I am sure in an open forum for all then many of these concerns could be addressed,the forum format has great potential imo)I have also been trying for some time for the NHSnetworks to take input from service users but with no success,as I think it an ideal place to try sort out growing problems.

I think you're splitting hairs.

Very useful info. though for those tempted to use SF for giving or recieving counselling wouldn't you agree?

I think this is a good thread.... Sometimes people might give bad info w/o meaning to........