​​Straight Up Psychology

David Fillmore   Registered Psychologist

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When Should I Seek Counselling?


You don’t need to be “crazy” or on the verge of a breakdown to seek counselling. Nor is going to counselling a sign of weakness.


Most people can benefit from counselling at some point in their lives. Sometimes the signs are obvious but at other times, something may just feel slightly off and you can’t figure out what it is. Often when people are feeling low, the natural tendency is to wait for things improve on their own. It is often easier, however, to work through an issue the earlier you seek help, and things may in fact get worse if you don't do anything about them.


A psychologist can help you to identify the difficulties you are facing in a non-judgemental way, as well as provide you with the knowledge, and help you to develop the skills to better cope with these challenges and take control of your life.

So how do you know when it’s time to see a psychologist?


Good indicators of when you should seek help include if:

  • you are experiencing mood changes, such as depression or anxiety, are feeling sad, angry or just “not yourself”, and have no idea of either why or what to do about it
  • you have distressing symptoms which are interfering with your quality of life, and you find can’t do the things you normally like to do
  • you are having problems at work
  • you feel a sense of helplessness or that you can no longer cope
  • you are having difficulties in your relationships with your family, partner, friends or work colleagues
  • you are facing new difficulties that you have not dealt with before
  • something traumatic has happened, you’ve lost someone or something important to you
  • you are abusing drugs, alcohol, food or sex to cope
  • you are having thoughts of harming yourself
  • your ability to concentrate is becoming more difficult
  • your level of pain has become unmanageable
  • you have no one close in whom you can confide
  • you have tried to deal with problems on your own but still find it hard to cope
  • you want to develop further personal skills, such as stress management