Singer Rachel Stevens says 鈥渋t鈥檚 so important to talk鈥� as she spoke about her experience of counselling after growing up in the spotlight with S Club 7.

Rachel said she first went to personal counselling in her late teens after finding fame with the pop group and their spin-off BBC television series Miami 7.

S Club 7 enjoyed huge success, with four UK number one singles, a number one album and two Brit Awards. Rachel also had three top UK 10 singles as a solo artist.

Outlet

Speaking in an interview on national television about the value of counselling, Rachel described it as an 鈥渙utlet鈥� for her.

She said: 鈥淚n a band like S Club, we were marketed at a very young audience and it was very shiny and happy and everyone saw the sort of finished polished product and we were very packaged.

鈥淏ut underneath all of that I had a lot of my stuff going on and my emotions and my things that were going on.聽

鈥淎s soon as the camera鈥檚 on and going on and singing Reach, putting a smile on and putting a show on, but there鈥檚 a lot obviously going on behind the scenes.鈥�

Feelings and emotions

She added: 鈥淚 actually had personal therapy when I was 18 or 19. That鈥檚 when I first started having therapy and felt like I really needed to talk about all of my stuff that was going on that I really needed to just make sense of.

鈥淚 spent a lot of years pushing a lot of feelings and emotions away and not feeling them, which came from my childhood.

鈥淚 grew up in a family that we didn鈥檛 really talk much about our feelings and I got used to internalising a lot of stuff.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so important to talk. It鈥檚 so important to get those feelings out. The more they鈥檙e inside they manifest and you internalise them and they become much bigger.鈥�

Talking to , Rachel said she continues to have regular counselling sessions.

Emotional and sensitive

鈥淚 have therapy weekly,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 need it as that kind of outlet. I鈥檝e always been someone who鈥檚 been a worrier, someone who thinks a lot, someone who internalises things a lot and incredibly emotional and sensitive.

鈥淚 think I need that person.

鈥淚 speak to my closest friends obviously, my husband, but other than that, having that person who鈥檚 not so close just gives me that outlet to be acknowledged and make sense of it all when there鈥檚 not that emotional connection, which I think鈥檚 really important.鈥�

If you want to speak to a 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor, you can聽find a therapist near you through our directory.