Whenever I read something from a counsellor or someone, I feel like they are judging me. I feel like behind what they are writing, they are thinking about what I have done wrong and wonder why I would talk to them about something like it. This may be the reason why I cannot find ChildLine too helpful. Is it even possible for someone to not judge someone else? Do counsellors care about whether or not you should be talking to ChildLine? I can't truly ever believe anything that they say. I feel like ChildLine thinks what I say is stupid. I feel like everything might be lies and I can just always feel like so much is not right. I can feel ChildLine silently judging me. I might just be bad at stuff to do with this sort of thing but I just can't be comfortable with talking to ChildLine. Please can you be honest with me about this.
Sam
Hi there,
Its natural to have questions about how ChildLine works, whether counsellors are judging you or thinking about you during or after youve spoken to them.
ChildLine have spoken to and supported millions of children and young people in the last 30 years. This means that they hear concerns about everything, big and small. Most are happy with their experience of talking to ChildLine, but there'll be some people who feel the service doesn't work for them.
All of the counsellors at ChildLine do an interview and are trained in the same way. Counsellors are open minded and not easily shocked. They also know that they can learn a lot from how young people see and experience the service.
Our counsellors care about all young people. And thats why so many of them do what they do. It can be hard to understand why a person would give up their free time, often late at night to help someone they dont know. But it takes a special type of person to become a counsellor.
From what youve said, it sounds like you might have had a bad experience with ChildLine or with other people or another service thats made you feel unsure and unable to trust. The mood were in or the kind of day we have had can influence how we feel about something and for some young people, on certain days, it feels impossible to be happy or positive about anything. In this case, you should speak to a counsellor about it so that they can help you work through it. Its important to understand how events or other people can affect how we feel.
Sometimes, when we feel low or in a bad mood we are more likely to think negative thoughts and to feel a bit vulnerable. But by talking to a counsellor we reveal information about ourselves, often for the first time, that we may not normally share and this can leave us feeling a bit exposed.
ChildLine takes all concerns about the service very seriously, and welcome feedback that can improve what they do.
You can read more about ChildLine or check out the message boards to see what other people think about the service. It might be useful to ask your question on the message boards and see what other young people think.
Take care for now, Sam
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