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Around here, especially in E/N, the common suggestion to those feeling dissatisfaction with their life is "get therapy". I'm curious to get some anecdotal information regarding therapy sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist. Preferably dealing with slightly less classifiable/directly treatable disorders like depression, antisocial behaviors, or social anxiety. What exactly did you discuss or cover in your therapy sessions? Would you say that beginning therapy resulted in a significant improvement on your quality of life? Were medications prescribed in addition to the sessions? What were some possible "homework" assignments? Would you say there was a point where you reached some kind of epiphany and the therapy was no longer needed, or is it a lifelong process requiring consistent appointments? In terms of the logistics, is it expensive? Was it covered under government health care? Did you need to wait around for hours for each appointment, and were they located in hospitals/institutions or in private establishments? I realize for many it may be a very personal topic. Any opinions or information would be much appreciated, feel free to leave out any details if you don't feel comfortable sharing.
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Nov 27, 2015 07:06
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| # ? May 4, 2024 22:17 |
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Ornithology posted:Around here, especially in E/N, the common suggestion to those feeling dissatisfaction with their life is "get therapy". I'm curious to get some anecdotal information regarding therapy sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist. Preferably dealing with slightly less classifiable/directly treatable disorders like depression, antisocial behaviors, or social anxiety. On the first session I was really nervous but he did not help me out at all, so I awkwardly introduced myself, making note of the "sink or swim" attitude that would dictate our interaction with each other. I was full of anxiety and there was a massive threshold to talk about anything to "regular" people so I basically sat there for four months, hardly saying anything. At some point a regular member of the group was so frustrated with my behaviour that she leashed out at me, telling me I constantly acted like a repentant sinner and how annoying that was. I chewed at bit on this, went out and did not return. Since you sign a "contract" that does not allow this (you have to give a three months' notice when you want to leave) this meant my health insurance won't cover therapy for the next two years. I don't think this was completely one-sided though. I had a chance to talk to others and didn't use it. Still, this was probably not the correct kind of therapy. The group was mostly talking about their everyday life while I would have liked to start at the very beginning, but I rarely saw an opportunity to contribute. quote:Would you say that beginning therapy resulted in a significant improvement on your quality of life? quote:What were some possible "homework" assignments? quote:Would you say there was a point where you reached some kind of epiphany and the therapy was no longer needed, or is it a lifelong process requiring consistent appointments?
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Nov 27, 2015 14:36
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Ornithology posted:Around here, especially in E/N, the common suggestion to those feeling dissatisfaction with their life is "get therapy". I'm curious to get some anecdotal information regarding therapy sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist. Preferably dealing with slightly less classifiable/directly treatable disorders like depression, antisocial behaviors, or social anxiety. I did counselling with my spouse to work on some communications issues we had. Our counsellor was a registered psychologist. What exactly did you discuss or cover in your therapy sessions? For the first two sessions, we talked about ourselves so the counsellor could get an idea of where we were coming from. She asked us lots of questions about what our homes were like growing up, how we felt about our important relationships, including with each other, and got a good description from us of what the problem we were dealing with was and what it looked like when we were miscommunicating. After those initial sessions, we talked about instances where we had communications breakdown and how we could have changed our behaviour to avoid them, and she gave us techniques for preventing future issues that were helpful. Would you say that beginning therapy resulted in a significant improvement on your quality of life? Yes. My spouse and I no longer have the same fight all the time, which takes away a pretty decent-sized source of stress for me. Also, in the process of figuring out why we were having that same fight again and again, I learned a lot about my emotional orientation to the world, which has really helped with work stress, my relationships with family, and my general outlook on life. I'm much less stressed out and overall much happier in all aspects of life since going to see this counsellor even though I just went to work on a specific issue in my marriage. Were medications prescribed in addition to the sessions? No. What were some possible "homework" assignments? The counsellor gave us techniques for communicating better with each other and for recognizing when communication was breaking down. We used those techniques and reported back in later sessions as to what worked and what didn't. Would you say there was a point where you reached some kind of epiphany and the therapy was no longer needed, or is it a lifelong process requiring consistent appointments? Once we learned what techniques were effective and how to employ them, the counselling wasn't needed any more. In terms of the logistics, is it expensive? $175 a session. Was it covered under government health care? No, but I have insurance through work that covered it. Most extended insurance plans will cover therapy with a licensed counsellor. There are lots of services funded by the provincial health care system with no user-pay fees in my area; I'm a healthcare provider and I frequently refer patients to them. Did you need to wait around for hours for each appointment, and were they located in hospitals/institutions or in private establishments? No waiting, and our counsellor works out of a shared private office with other psychologists. For the community services to which I make referrals, there's often a long waiting list and sometimes they're seen in a hospital outpatient clinic (which does usually mean waiting for appointments).
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Nov 27, 2015 19:28
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Ornithology posted:Around here, especially in E/N, the common suggestion to those feeling dissatisfaction with their life is "get therapy". I'm curious to get some anecdotal information regarding therapy sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist. Preferably dealing with slightly less classifiable/directly treatable disorders like depression, antisocial behaviors, or social anxiety. quote:What exactly did you discuss or cover in your therapy sessions? Would you say that beginning therapy resulted in a significant improvement on your quality of life quote:Were medications prescribed in addition to the sessions? I see a psychiatrist as well as a psychologist (psychiatrists are the ones that prescribe meds), and meds have been prescribed in addition to therapy. Generally I've been trying different anxiety meds to find something that helps. quote:What were some possible "homework" assignments? There aren't always homework assignments. The most common thing is my therapist is fond of mindfulness and he'd give me exercises to practice that. Or one time he gave some literature on ways thought processes go wrong and how to help that (like leaping to conclusions and such). In my experience homework depends a lot on the therapist. quote:Would you say there was a point where you reached some kind of epiphany and the therapy was no longer needed, or is it a lifelong process requiring consistent appointments? quote:In terms of the logistics, is it expensive? Was it covered under government health care? Did you need to wait around for hours for each appointment, and were they located in hospitals/institutions or in private establishments? quote:I realize for many it may be a very personal topic. Any opinions or information would be much appreciated, feel free to leave out any details if you don't feel comfortable sharing.
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Nov 27, 2015 19:53
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Ornithology posted:Around here, especially in E/N, the common suggestion to those feeling dissatisfaction with their life is "get therapy". I'm curious to get some anecdotal information regarding therapy sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist. Preferably dealing with slightly less classifiable/directly treatable disorders like depression, antisocial behaviors, or social anxiety. Discuss anything on your mind. Your feelings and thoughts. Even though it may feel strange at first, you need to do it so your therapist can do their job. Yes, it gave me better insight and confidence in my life and I have a support network to fall back on if needed. If you're seeing a psychologist you have to see a separate doctor for that and mention what your psychologist recommends. I'm pretty sure a psychiatrist does both, but I've never been to one. But you don't HAVE to be on medication, it will come up as "well let's try this and see if it works and if you notice anything different, does that sound okay to you?". For me "homework assignments" included looking up information on the personality disorder that I was diagnosed to better understand it. It depends on your situation and why your there. Maybe you'll want to stick with it, maybe you'll want to take a break, or maybe you'll decide it isn't necessary for you. There is a HUGE stigma against mental health and seeing a professional and it really really isn't a big deal or anything to be ashamed of. It's as practical as seeing a dentist. quote:In terms of the logistics, is it expensive? Was it covered under government health care? Did you need to wait around for hours for each appointment, and were they located in hospitals/institutions or in private establishments? Also keep in mind its okay if a therapist you're seeing doesn't work out or you just don't jive with them. It may take seeing a couple of different once to find the best one for you.
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Nov 28, 2015 00:54
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I couldn't afford to go to a therapist when I was in school, so I took advantage of the Psychology school's internship program. Doctoral students who needed to do X amount of clinical hours before they could complete their degree would offer therapy through the school's walk in psychology clinic. It was free for students, or on a sliding scale for members of the community. I qualified for free sessions, and my mother qualified for sessions that cost her $5 per session. My father was working in a minimum wage job, and she was a housewife, so she couldn't afford to pay more than that. $5 was the amount that they agreed to, because it was enough to cover the administrative fees and such, and was an amount that my mother could come up with. I went in briefly to deal with the stress of being closeted, and it really helped. I go back from time to time for about a month or two to work out major life upheavals, depending on whether or not I can afford it. My mom went in more as a preventative than a cure. She felt like everyone should have the chance to talk to an impartial third party about their problems (real or perceived). She went once a week for about a year or so, at which point the student she was seeing had graduated, and she felt like she'd gotten what she could out of the therapy. If I could afford preventative mental health care, like going to see a therapist to just check in with someone and catch negative patterns of behaviours and thoughts as they form as opposed to after they've done the damage, I'd be going a couple of times a month, and keep up with it consistently. Such is not the case, however. In my sessions initially, the person I was seeing pretty much let me steer the ship, so to speak. I had specific goals in mind when I saw him, and he was happy to work with me on getting through my mental blocks so that I could achieve them. When I sat in on my mother's sessions, it was more of a guided conversation. Her therapist would check in about any follow up from the previous session, and then ask simple questions that would stimulate my mother to analyse things rather than relaying what happened. She had a habit of getting caught up in the minutiae of the incident, rather than thinking through what she felt about things, and seeing that therapist helped her to do that.
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Nov 28, 2015 17:16
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I go to therapy and poo poo because of PTSD and other related issues. I can honestly say that I set myself back by think I was aloof and was able to figure out what and where the therapist was going with lines of questioning and so on. Just let it happen. They have the degree, you don't. Also you're paying them.
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Nov 29, 2015 07:50
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I've been in and out since I was a kid (Autism, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD). While you should always give a therapist a good go, I should add that if you feel it isn't working that looking for another therapist is an option. Never feel bad about it, they may have training but they're still a person and sometimes people don't get along.
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Nov 30, 2015 14:23
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