Does counseling help?
Well, I thought I should talk about my son's brief encounter with mental health counseling. This was before the diagnosis of Autism was documented. I had started going to a counseling center for myself and thought that it might be a good idea for my son to try it too. It really did seem like a good idea. Sadly, my son wound up going through many counselors in the brief period of time that I was successful in getting him to go to counseling.
Needless to say, this was very discouraging to my son and he said that he no longer wanted to try to participate. It was too much for him to try and find a good counselor. More recently I tried again to get him into counseling and was told he didn't need it. It's so frustrating as a mom, concerned with my son's mental health, to get brick walled in such a manner. Do I think that my son would benefit from counseling? Yes. Getting that counseling is a major mountain to climb.
My son and I live with my 78 year old dad, who can be very negative and abrasive. Mostly towards me. I know it affects my son when his grandpa makes his mom upset, hurt, or cry. I talk to him as best as I can, but can only do so much if my son actually talks about it. I would like to be certain that my son's mental health is as well taken care of as the rest of him is. But with this kind of hurdle to leap over, I fear that any kind of success is a long ways away.
In the meantime, I try to do my best by talking to him and encouraging him to open up to me and share what he's feeling. Faith and love will get us through
