166 BRITISH SOCIAL ATTITUDES

counsellor, one in five (19 per cent) said there had been other occasions on
which they had considered contacting such services but had not actually done
so. This is five times the rate found among those with no previous experience of
contact with these professions, only four per cent of whom had thought about
contacting similar services. This suggests that, while there is a reasonable level
of additional potential demand, so far it comes mainly from those who already
have experience of using such services.
People give a variety of reasons for not actually contacting emotional support
services, despite having considered doing so. As Table 7.5 shows, there is little
evidence of concrete barriers to the use of such services (such as problems of
access or awareness of where or how to contact them). There is some evidence
of people worrying about confidentiality or feeling awkward or embarrassed,
but by far the main reasons given were that they did not ultimately believe that
talking to someone else would help the situation, or that the problem resolved
itself in other ways. This reinforces the suggestion that professional therapeutic
intervention is not routinely seen as a useful or viable response to everyday
emotional difficulties.
Table 7.5 Reasons given for not contacting formal emotional support services

% mentioning
The problem resolved itself 31
Didn't believe it would make any difference 29
Didn't feel up to it 15
Felt embarrassed or shy 12
Didn't know how to put it into words 9
Didn't really know who to contact 7
Nervous about /afraid of contacting them 7
Worried it would appear on medical record 6
Felt ashamed 5
Didn't feel it was for people like me 5
Couldn't afford it 5
Didn't really know how to contact them 3
Was worried about someone finding out 3
Too difficult to get to 1
Too far to travel *
Some other reason 7
No particular reason 7
Base 471
Base: those who had considered contacting formal emotional support but had not done
so
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