Posted by fires on June 21, 2004, at 14:34:23
with words of caution for those considering psychotherapy (PT from here forth; T=therapist).
I had my first episode of major depression in 1976. It came from out of the blue. I saw my family MD first and he referred me to a P.(P=psychologist; Pdoc= psychiatrist)
After some PT, it became apparent that all of the talking in the world was not going to help my depression. I had other therapists who combined meds and talk. When that failed I had 9 ECT treatments. No relief. The dep. eventually went away with time alone and some dietary changes (NO milk or wheat products), but I was still rather dysthymic.
I had many more T experiences even after I was convinced that my "mental illness" was really a "brain disorder". Here's what ****I******* learned from my PT experiences and my reasearch about PT. Red Flags that my therapy &/or therapist wasn't/weren't "right" for me, and words of caution re: PT/Ts that I've accumulated from many sources over the years:
• T was anti medication
• T tried to get me to agree with his (his=his/her)pet theories even though I honestly couldn't.
• T blamed me when therapy wasn't working. One said, "I never promised you a rose garden."
• T fell asleep on 2 occasions -- right during my therapy (sleep deprived Residents may not make the best Ts for Dep. people who are withdrawn and not talking much).
• I did have a couple of Ts whom I liked, although their PT didn't help my dep., but did help me somewhat with assertiveness. One of them told me that there were at least 100 distinct types of PT. He then added that each particular type thought that their's was the one true type of PT. (Sound something like religion?)
• By 1983, I saw the shift away from psychobabble PT towards more CBT type therapy WITH meds, of course. In the later 80's though the New Age PT types sprung up. To read about a New Age type person and her fascinating conversion away from it go to:
http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-05/new-age.html
• Be wary of any T/PT that doesn't clearly define a theurapeutic goal and a limited timeline. I was hospiatalized with a relatively young woman with dep., whom was told by her T that her "problems" were so severe that it would take 10+ years for her to regain her former health!!!
• Avoid any T that rewards or encourages you to whine, bitch, blame, behave as an "emotional cripple" and or "drama queen/king". If they even tolerate such behavior say "bye" fast. I learned that from my years of working in special education, and Ts working with that population.
• Be leary of PTs that say that you must feel worse before you feel better! If your'e experiencing suicidal ideation, such "therapy" could very well push you to act on your impulses, especially if you have frontal lobe involvement (impulsivity problems can be due to frontal lobe problems).
• Run from any T who suggests that your dep. is due to pent up anger. (that theory is now defunct).
• Leave any T who you become overly dependent on. A good T should not let you become overly dependent on him.
• Run from any T who suggests that sex with him, or anyone else, will help you. Seems silly to have to state that, but there are groups of therapists around who believe that crap.
I may have forgotten some things learned during my 28 years, but I can add them later. BTW, Parnate and now Effexor can be thanked for making my life tolerable or better yet since 1988.
Thank you for reading this and Good Luck!
poster:fires
thread:358678
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040614/msgs/358678.html