"Counsellor's approach to my daughter's situation"

My daughter started suffering severe anxiety and low mood after her friendship group started to alienate and ignore her. After weeks of being very lonely she mustered the courage to ask her friends why they dropped her and what had she done etc. They told her they didn't want to be friends anymore. No real explanation or reason. It confused and broke her heart after being friends from 1st year.

I was called to the school after my daughter broke done in tears. She opened up about it. I sought help from Crisis Cafe. She received wonderful help there through 1-1 sessions. I was contacted to talk about her progress etc. It was at this time they felt the GP needed to be notified regarding her mental health.

After a 4-month wait from GP referral, my daughter was offered initial assessment via telephone. I would have preferred her to be seen in person but accepted the telephone assessment as I didn't want there to be a longer wait. I was present during the assessment. The assessment didn't go very well.

Although I can't fault the line of questions asked, the Counsellor spoke in a way that was very hard to engage with. The counsellor's approach and possibly ways to find humour or lightheartedness came off wrong and it was off putting. To name a couple of things they worded that our family dog wasn't a dog (Miniature Yorkie) it was a rat. Our dog is a brilliant family pet that gives us all great joy and love.

The counsellor asked if my daughter drank, smoked or took drugs. She doesn't and said so. The counsellor turned the question to me and I said no she doesn't and that I trusted her. They said that it's a mistake to trust teenagers, and  went on to ask if there was any substance abuse in the home. Again I understand the process of questioning but when I said there wasn't, the counsellor replied back - well, nothing you'll admit in front of your daughter!?!

The counsellor queried also about the Level 2 stage being suitable as my daughter is already getting level 3 for eating disorder. I explained that they had mentioned this and the practitioner felt she would definitely benefit from separate counselling for Anxiety and Low Mood.

I want my daughter to get the best help and to learn from the support and advice you and the team in Armagh has to offer. By doing this it'll hopefully give her the tools she needs to help her with her mental health.

I have asked for a new counsellor as I am not happy with how the assessment went. My daughter, too, felt very put off. I trust that a new counsellor will have a better more suitable approach to my daughter's situation.