Can a counselor force me to work?

I mentioned along time ago that I did some volunteer work once a month to my counselor.well at least once a month my counselor asks if I found a place to volunteer yet.last session he said I should finally go volunteer or at least let him know I am looking for volunteer.he said his supervisor wants to make sure there is some progress with me regarding threapy.when I did volunteer it was 3 hours a month.he says I should volunteer to get out of the house & maybe make new friends.i am nervous if I go volunteer he will next say well u volunteerd so u can work & get off disability.i have depression, epilepsy & a learning disability for 30 plus years .i stay home alot & maybe he just wants to get out more.but I have had others push me into working.even telling me to take the first job to that comes along.jobs never work out for me ever.When I worked in the past a place that was supposed to help the disabled all they did was pressure people to work full time & pressure people into dealing with a lot of crap on the job.one place I worked they made me work outside In the heat all day & they knew I had seziures.they would not let me have water at the register but when others worked outside they where allowed bottled water.I had a nervous break down last time I worked.should I trust my counselor that he is not going to pressure me into working by saying I should volunteer just to get out of the house?

Volunteering 3 hours a month is a far cry away from working full time or even part time. Why don't you ask your counselor outright why he's pushing you to volunteer?

He says he wants me to get out more.he said it might help my depression a little & that I might make friends.but I am not sure I trust him.because in the past I had a counselor pressure me into work & that other counselor said work is good for depression

Well, work is good for depression. I have severe depression, and I was on ssdi and chose to go back to work to help my depression. I still struggle a lot but at least I'm independent again and have some self worth again through working. Plus I get to be around people all day instead alone.

It is good to get out and at least volunteer. It's easy to isolate, I do that a lot and it makes the depression worse. I worked for many years before I applied for SSDI. I had so many health issues by that time that it was too difficult for me to hold any job. But I still do dog walking or pet sitting occasionally.

Did u loose your disability after working?Why kind of work do u do?

I just had bad experiences with people pressuring me to work.like work 40 plus hours & after a few months I had a nervous break down at work.i have always had issues at jobs.i never called in sick,never was late.but I got treated badly by employers & co workers.want to volunteer but don't think I can handle a real job.unless I get training for like a desk job.i can't handle the stress of fast food or retail

I went on a return to work program trial period. So because I make more than the minimum allowance and have done so for 9 months, yes, my ssdi stopped. But I knew that going into it and I planned it. I reported to ssdi my earnings and work schedule because I wanted off ssdi.

You can still work part time and be on ssdi. There is a maximum earning amount you are allowed. Check with your local ssdi office and get that in writing before starting to work part time. It's around 900 a month, I think.

Seesaw

Oh, I work in the philanthropy field for an orchestra.

All my past Jobs​ where high stress retail & food service jobs.a few times I asked for help from drs.i asked for help to get training for a office job but they​ said since I am disabled​ nobody else would hire me.they said I should just take any job that comes my way.once I worked somewhere & found a job that paid me 2 bucks a hour more.Gave my other job 2 weeks notice & Drs got mad about me leaving a job where I would get paid less.After I worked a few months at a the job that paid me a little more.The job coach I had dropped me for no reason.i have asked about other type jobs from several agencies that help the disabled & They​ all said I will only be able to work minimum wage jobs & nothing more.i think if I could find a no retail job or non food service job.i might be able to handle things better.But nobody wants to help me to find some Office training

What is your disability? I make a very good salary even though I'm disabled.

Epilepsy,bi polar & a learning disability

UCLAfan, I think you have answered you own question. Who is there is tell? What is at stake? For you own personal development should you all make the decision to volunteer if that is indeed a goal I don't know much about the dx's stated but there has to be some of that if you are in counseling, personal development?

I can handle some volunteering.worked in the past & it never went well.i got fired from several jobs.i have a learning disability on top of depression, Epilepsy, fatigue & insomnia.i have never been able to handle stress well.have hard time multi tasking etc.i have tried my hardest at jobs in the past & i was never good enough.i was always on time & would even work later then scheduled.i would try my hardest & became a people pleaser at past jobs.i would never say no if people would request me to do more things even if it was to much.i would still do it.