Therapy can help families and carers come to terms with a loved one鈥檚 mental health condition or complex health needs, say 香港六合彩精准资料 members Sarah Baker and Sian Wareing-Jones.
They were speaking after Dame Barbara Windsor鈥檚 husband Scott Mitchell talked about having regular therapy sessions following the acting legend鈥檚 diagnosis with Alzheimer鈥檚.
Scott, who has been married to former Eastenders star Barbara since 2000, told the : 鈥淚 look after myself, I take myself away and see a therapist. I have no shame in saying that.
鈥淚 sit down and get out of my head, it鈥檚 quite easy to be open about what is going on with myself.
鈥淭hat helps me, it stops me going insane. I go every couple of weeks. If everyone had 颅therapy there might be a few less problems in the world.鈥�
Sian, counsellor and family support co-ordinator with Jersey Alzheimer鈥檚 Association, says people seek counselling to help them cope with what can be an emotionally and physically demanding situation.
She said: 鈥淭hey are at that stage of being frazzled and burnt out by having to manage caring, emotionally and physically, for someone else.
鈥淎 lot of it is people finding it difficult to cope with the emotional trauma of seeing someone in such a situation and nurturing someone through really difficult times.鈥�
No holds barred
Sarah says therapy can help in a number of ways.
鈥淥ne of things I think is most important, is it provides a no-holds-barred space in which people can express what might otherwise go unexpressed,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a place to talk about taboo topics without censure or judgement.
鈥淚f there are already problems in a relationship, these can intensify because the things that were holding the relationship together begin to break.
鈥淭here can be a lot of emotion around the adjustment to the changes. For example, if someone has just retired and begins to show signs of dementia there is adjustment to the fact that they planned to relax or spend more time with the grandchildren and suddenly that gets blown out of the water.
鈥淭hat no-holds-barred space is important because it normalises feelings, saying anybody would feel like that.鈥�
Relief
Sian added: 鈥淚 see people physically relax, their bodies relax in front of me because they have been able to say how it is in confidence. The relief of talking and sharing a burden with someone, who is not going to judge them.鈥�
Scott, meanwhile, is running the London Marathon in support of Dementia Revolution. He said: 鈥淪he thanks me for 颅looking after her. I say to her, 鈥榶ou don鈥檛 have to thank me鈥�. Barbara can鈥檛 be left alone any more. That鈥檚 the reality of it. She has to have constant care.
鈥淪he can鈥檛 look after herself but then we still sit and have dinner and watch TV and have normal conversations.鈥�
He added: 鈥淚t's not until it happens on your doorstep that you realise how devastating dementia is. There is still such a lack of awareness that surrounds the condition.
鈥淚 see it often with Barbara - people get very nervous around her and they don't know how to react or what to say. But it's so important that we understand dementia.
鈥淭his cause desperately needs as much attention and awareness as possible.鈥�
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and want to speak to a 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor or psychotherapist, you can find one via our听directory.
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