[justfloating]

I only have 5 weeks left of school, and then I'm going home for the summer, which is great, but I'm also a little nervous. I've been seeing a counsellor here in Scotland since October, at first once a week, and now that I'm getting the depression under control, I check in with her every two weeks. I'm convinced that seeing her saved my life, and it's the best thing I ever did for myself. I've got a lot of my issues under control now, which is why I don't see her as often as I did, but I still feel a lot of things building up if I haven't been to see her in a while.

Here's my problem: When I go home, that'll be it for the summer. That's almost four months of no counselling, no professional help at all. I won't even have the same doctor -- I was diagnosed with depression in Canada, but that was right before school started, so it's been the university-assigned doctor who's been taking care of me all year. I just got a new doctor in Canada since my old one moved away, and I haven't actually met her yet. So basically, I'll be losing my entire professional support network when I go home.

I'm not sure what to do. I don't know if it'd be worth it for me to get a referal to another therapist, who I'll have to get to know all over again (and I find it hard to share, so that's going to take me a while) and who I'll only see for the summer. I don't need to see someone every single week anymore because the depression is a lot more manageable than it was and my meds have finally kicked in, but I'm a little scared of not seeing someone AT ALL. I don't think I'm ready to tackle things all by myself, especially not since I'll be living with my family (aka, the Most Stressful People On Earth). I know that my depression is no longer threatening to my life, and although it's still there I've become a lot more functional and independent despite it, and most days I can manage it pretty well. The meds are working, and I'm going to be at home in my own country, with all my old friends, so I should be pretty comfortable. But I also know that I'm not out of the woods yet, and I can't go back to the way I was before -- it's a scary, painful place and I'd do anything not to have to go back to that kind of darkness. So as much as I don't need to be in therapy every week, I'm afraid that staying away completely might become a little much for me.

I don't know what to do! Any advice?

[turquoisesea]

I would suggest talking to your current therapist, first, to see if there's any way to contact her over the summer if you need her.

Also, I think it is worth finding a therapist in your area. Being around your family again could make things a bit crazy, so its worth it to have someone, even if they are new and you don't know them as well.

*sending hugs*

[ClareFae]

I think it would be worth it to get atleast the name of a therapist at home or of some community resources. It's so much harder to make that effort when you're depressed or in crisis. I think it would be helpfull to try and set things up incase you need them. Also, it wont just be for this summer, what about next summer and so on.
And I like turquoisesea's suggestion to see if there's a way to contact you're current therapist over the summer.
In the end though I think you should do what feels right to you.