Telus Health is a multinational corporate wellbeing company contracted by major private companies and government agencies to provide workers with free wellbeing tools to deal with stressful situations (so that management doesn't have to deal with those :).)
I've used this service for quite a few years now. Most of the
counsellors I got were all very nice, but also unhelpful. Many of them have little knowledge or qualifications. Others are experienced counsellors but their expertise isn't in the field you need them for, and you wonder why you're connected with them. Most of them listen to you for sure, let you vent, but too many show no interest or attention and respond with ready-made sentences,
like, I'm so sorry to hear, oh that's terrible, aha uhm, but there is no empathetic listening or anything genuine when they say that they feel for you. You can feel when a person feels for you.
Many of the items of 'advice' or 'tools' they give you is just common sense, something that your friends/family would tell you or you already know. Eg. don't take things personally, breath in an out, contact HR, talk to the person who did this to you, journal, talk to your friends and family, discuss this with your spouse. Other times the information they provide you with is easily available by looking up your area of concern on Google.
Not sure if they get paid much, but quiet a few of the counsellors I've spoken to when really distressed were not in a professional setting but cooking at home, driving, walking from one place to another. That's the antithesis of what a professional counsellor or health professional should be doing. If a counsellor is doing their chores while talking to a customer, their focus is not the customer, is the money they get for picking up the call.
Having said that, in the past, I've had 2-3 occasions where the counsellors were really helpful and truly genuine. They helped me to make my mind, take a decision or just appeased my upset. However, those are a minority. I wish it was the other way around.
There is no option at the end of the call for us to rate the counsellor's service. In most cases, at least with me, they call you, so it's understandable that they don't ask you for feedback. There is no quality control I think :) Even when I've been transferred to the counsellor directly from the phone operator, there hasn't been a request for feedback. That's good for them because... look at the reviews on Trustpilot!
Be careful, they record the calls if they are in their office and have to ask for permission to do that. You can say no, of course. If they don't mention anything upfront you can easily ask them before the conversation starts.
My suggestion to you is to talk to family and friends and Google for help in those areas of your concern (work, financial, couples, personal, gender, diversity etc) and then look for low-cost services offering those specialities in your area. That's better that getting a "wall" to speak to or a person whose expertise is not on the area you need. You can easily check the counsellor's expertise by looking up their names. and cancel the appt beforehand if booked a few days in advance.
For people without an inner circle, Telus might provide some relief as, worst case scenario, they listen to you in a nice manner and costs you nothing. In the best possible scenario, they'll offer several sessions that will help you deal with specific issues. Yet, contact them without any expectations or you'll be disappointed. If you have mental health issues don't bother, go to your GP and they can refer you to a mental health service or psychologist and do a care plan for you. Many council community centres offer free financial and other types of counselling as well, so that might be an alternative to Telus.
I want to finish with something positive. The girls who pick up your initial call and book you in and do your profiling are always sweethearts. And those counsellors that were good, made a difference in my life.
Many of the items of 'advice' or 'tools' they give you is just common sense, something that your friends/family would tell you or you already know. Eg. don't take things personally, breath in an out, contact HR, talk to the person who did this to you, journal, talk to your friends and family, discuss this with your spouse. Other times the information they provide you with is easily available by looking up your area of concern on Google.
Not sure if they get paid much, but quiet a few of the counsellors I've spoken to when really distressed were not in a professional setting but cooking at home, driving, walking from one place to another. That's the antithesis of what a professional counsellor or health professional should be doing. If a counsellor is doing their chores while talking to a customer, their focus is not the customer, is the money they get for picking up the call.
Having said that, in the past, I've had 2-3 occasions where the counsellors were really helpful and truly genuine. They helped me to make my mind, take a decision or just appeased my upset. However, those are a minority. I wish it was the other way around.
There is no option at the end of the call for us to rate the counsellor's service. In most cases, at least with me, they call you, so it's understandable that they don't ask you for feedback. There is no quality control I think :) Even when I've been transferred to the counsellor directly from the phone operator, there hasn't been a request for feedback. That's good for them because... look at the reviews on Trustpilot!
Be careful, they record the calls if they are in their office and have to ask for permission to do that. You can say no, of course. If they don't mention anything upfront you can easily ask them before the conversation starts.
My suggestion to you is to talk to family and friends and Google for help in those areas of your concern (work, financial, couples, personal, gender, diversity etc) and then look for low-cost services offering those specialities in your area. That's better that getting a "wall" to speak to or a person whose expertise is not on the area you need. You can easily check the counsellor's expertise by looking up their names. and cancel the appt beforehand if booked a few days in advance.
For people without an inner circle, Telus might provide some relief as, worst case scenario, they listen to you in a nice manner and costs you nothing. In the best possible scenario, they'll offer several sessions that will help you deal with specific issues. Yet, contact them without any expectations or you'll be disappointed. If you have mental health issues don't bother, go to your GP and they can refer you to a mental health service or psychologist and do a care plan for you. Many council community centres offer free financial and other types of counselling as well, so that might be an alternative to Telus.
I want to finish with something positive. The girls who pick up your initial call and book you in and do your profiling are always sweethearts. And those counsellors that were good, made a difference in my life.
