Reflect Counselling Service

All forms of psychological therapy can be called counselling, ranging from simple supportive listening to complex therapy. They require a similar array and depth of skills.

Middle age can be a testing time. Mounting responsibilities, falling energy levels and the knowledge that youth is fast receding and old age is the next stage are the classic ingredients for a mid-life crisis.

But are the British particularly prone to despair and depression during their 40s and early 50s?

A recent survey of 13,000 people in 12 different countries found that 27% of the Britons in this age group said they suffered from depression, compared with just 17% internationally.

One out of every seven new mothers has post-natal depression - but, according to the Fatherhood Institute, one out of every 10 fathers are depressed both before and after their baby is born.