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Question:   Someone I work with gets on my nerves.  I've tried ignoring him but I'm worried that I'm just bottling up my anger and will end up saying or doing something that will cost me my job.  This is the last thing I want to happen.  I live in Sydney's north shore and am thinking I should see a counsellor, but I'm also planning a holiday over Christmas and don't want to eat into my savings - can you give me an idea of how many times I would need counselling to resolve this?

Answer:  It is never possible to say exactly how many sessions will be required, however, with the information you have given, I would suggest counselling for this issue would be short term. It doesn't sound as though it is a long standing issue that you have with anger, or with this individual. If you are concerned about money, perhaps you could ring a few practitioners and tell them briefly your situation, ask them about their experience with these kinds of issues and then ask them for an idea of the number of sessions required. Alternatively, you could simply present a very clear agenda to the counsellor, for example "I want some short term strategies in one or two sessions to get me through until after Christmas" and then return for more counselling after the festive season is over.

Answer provided by Michelle McClintock