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[Poll]

Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy?


Yes
  77% (47)
No
  21% (13)
I'm here, but not saying
  1% (1)


Total Votes : 61
(last vote on : 9/20/2010 6:10:02 AM)
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RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/12/2010 2:49:37 PM   
NuevaVida


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Oh yes I absolutely went to therapy.  Had an awesome therapist who helped me see things about myself that I needed to see.  But I also had to invest (mentally, emotionally, financially) in the process.  He was very expensive, almost 2 hours away, and the best thing I did for myself.  It was also one of the hardest things I did for myself.  But I'm a different person for it.


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Profile   Post #: 41
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/12/2010 2:52:52 PM   
NuevaVida


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Wheldrake


My ignorance of therapeutic practice is clearly showing, but, um, doesn't a counsellor have to offer counsel at some point? Surely after mirrors have been held up, and problems identified, it's necessary to talk about solutions. That's when a sense of being pushed might come in, if the therapist started to propose solutions that I didn't find appealing.



My therapist guided me through identifying problems and once I could see my part in creating those problems, the solutions became blatantly obvious.

The cool thing about a talented therapist is he/she knows the right pace to guide you through it.  If my therapist had pushed too much, I'd have left, because I wasn't ready for it.  And he knew that.


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Profile   Post #: 42
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/12/2010 2:52:54 PM   
hertz


Posts: 1315
Joined: 8/7/2010
Status: offline 		There's different sorts of counselling and the terminology is all over the place.

One might attend 'counselling' to sort out a particular issue - a bereavement maybe, or a drug problem, or maybe a bit of depression or something. This sort of goal-orientated counselling tends to be short-term, lasting a few weeks to a few months. Generally, one will have a clear objective one wants to achieve, and the number of sessions will be agreed in advance. There might, depending on the agreed objective, be an element of direction from the counsellor.

Or one might attend what is usually called 'therapy' in search of personal growth, with no clear goals or objectives apart from a general desire to understand oneself a bit better, or to feel better, or function better. This tends to be open ended and more often non-directive. It isn't necessary for the counsellor to offer solutions, but only for them to help create the environment for open and honest exploration. In the event that the client uncovers areas where they want to start looking for solutions, then the therapist might help the client explore the available alternatives, but the choice on whether to pursue one or none of them always remains with the client.

I need to add the disclaimer that this is only my view of it - I have limited experience, and I am sure others might have completely different viewpoints.



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Profile   Post #: 43
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/12/2010 3:23:41 PM   
DesFIP


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From: Apple County NY
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quote:

ORIGINAL: hertz

See? That's the perfect therapeutic question. Why, given that I can describe clear improvements in my functioning as the result of therapy, why do I continue to dismiss those improvements and default to self-negation? I guess I still carry a judgemental parent figure around in my head, even if I no longer have much to do with the real judgemental parents. Well, it's either that, or I have overstated the degree to which I have got to grips with my own imperfections etc. etc. I don't know, is the correct answer!



So now you've learned something else about yourself which you can work on in your everyday life. You can put an affirmation to this effect on the bathroom mirror or your desk. You can recognize in the future that you are allowing a critical parent figure to still control you even years later.

You also need to learn to forgive them for not loving you in the way you needed to be loved, for not being the perfect parent for the child you were, but that's a future epiphany.

Good therapists don't tell  you anything. They ask you questions that allow you to come to a realization. Because it is only after you've realized it for yourself that you are ready to take steps to change it.


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Profile   Post #: 44
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/12/2010 4:02:13 PM   
tiggerspoohbear


Posts: 19141
Joined: 6/27/2010
Status: offline 		I suffer from clinical depression. Part of it is brain chemistry, part is due to other issues. I will be on meds for the rest of my life, there's no denying that. Without them, I'm in a much worse place and can barely function.

I've gone to a psycho-therapist, who's job it is to ask questions and let you answer. In no way are they to direct you in any way as this is of no help. They ask questions that lead you to what is actually bothering you, if you can't come up with it, or help you through the process of self-discovery. I was lucky enough that my doc was very happy that I was so self-aware, that I knew where my problems lay but that I was willing for him to bring things to the surface and learn to deal with them.

I also saw a psychiatrist at the same because he was the one who had the full pharmacological knowledge to prescribe meds and ensure they were effective. In Ontario, psychiatrists are not trained to do any kind of "talk" therapy, and the 2 I had the displeasure of dealing with were useless except to prescribe.

I know myself well enough to know that I have about a 2 yr shelf life for any anti-depressant or mood stabilizer, then things need to be changed around. And I'm at that point now.

I've had close friends and family tell me I just needed to quit thinking about it, or to pull myself up by my bootstraps and I'd be better. Well, sorry, but when you have clinical depression and various disorders that go along with it, these people did more damage than good. The only person who ever truly tried to help and understand me, and still does to this day, is my dad. He's my rock and there are days when I'd be lost without him, even though we're 4 hours apart.

I count myself blessed that Tigger is the same as my dad. He realizes "it's not all in my head" and that sometimes things in my head lead to me making mountains out of nothing, forget about mountains out of molehills. He's there for me in a way that no one else has been, relationship wise and understands that this is an illness. Not that I'm crazy, but an actual illness. Soemthing people to this day sometimes have a problem realizing.

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Profile   Post #: 45
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/12/2010 5:41:12 PM   
KatyLied


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Joined: 2/24/2005
From: Pennsylvania
Status: offline 		Actually I was not saying anything negative about therapy. I strongly feel that if a patient has an affective disorder the patient should see a psychiatrist.  This doctor has vast experience and understanding of the latest drug therapies.

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(in reply to tiggerspoohbear)
Profile   Post #: 46
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/12/2010 5:56:54 PM   
tiggerspoohbear


Posts: 19141
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Status: offline 		Therapy and psychiatry should go hand in hand. Yet my psychiatrist refused to deal with my psycho-therapist and vice-versa. And before that the psychiatrist I had refused to deal with my GP who did most of my counselling. Which left me, as the patient, in the middle. And when you're not up to doing battle with the medical system or the bureaucracy, it can lead to more problems. Now if only the professionals and the damned bureaucrats realized that.............. it might make it easier for the patient who's in crisis and needs all of them to come together. But doubtful this will happen in my lifetime.

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Profile   Post #: 47
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/12/2010 6:03:01 PM   
KatyLied


Posts: 13029
Joined: 2/24/2005
From: Pennsylvania
Status: offline 		I am sorry to hear about your experience.  All of this stuff works out better when the professionals work together for the benefit of the patient.

_____________________________

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Profile   Post #: 48
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/12/2010 8:47:34 PM   
popeye1250


Posts: 18104
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From: New Hampshire
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quote:

ORIGINAL: KatyLied

Actually I was not saying anything negative about therapy. I strongly feel that if a patient has an affective disorder the patient should see a psychiatrist.  This doctor has vast experience and understanding of the latest drug therapies.


Katy, I don't imagine most G.P.s would even be aware of all the psy meds, dosages, side affects etc these days anyway right?
After all Psychiatry is a very "specialized" section of medicine.
My Internist can't be beat when it comes to the diagnosis but I doubt he'd know much about transplant surgury or opthamology.
He told me once that there are all kinds of surgeons that specialize in all kinds of surgery and the reason that they are good at it is because they do the same thing everyday, shoulder guys, foot guys, hip guys etc.

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Profile   Post #: 49
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/12/2010 10:35:00 PM   
NuevaVida


Posts: 6707
Joined: 8/5/2008
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quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250

Katy, I don't imagine most G.P.s would even be aware of all the psy meds, dosages, side affects etc these days anyway right?
After all Psychiatry is a very "specialized" section of medicine.



When I had my melt down a few years ago, I went to see my GP because I needed him to sign off on my leave from work.  We talked for an hour about the events leading up to the melt down, and what to do about it.  We also talked about antidepressants and my severe reluctance to go that route. He explained various antidepressant options and their side effects.  Because he's been my doctor for over 10 years, he knows me well, and without the time he took to talk to me and educate me, I probably wouldn't have gone that route, which was actually exactly what I needed to lift my mind out of the mud it was in.

I recall many years ago when I was diagnosed with severe depression, my GP at the time sent me to a psychiatrist to be evaluated for antidepressants.  The psychiatrist never looked up at me; just asked a short series of questions and handed me a prescription, telling me to come back in a month.  I didn't go back.  Mind you, I was suicidally depressed at the time. You'd think someone might have called to see if I was still alive, but instead I got a bill for $20 for a "no show."

It really just depends on the doctor.  For me, my GP and therapist helped me turn things around.  I was on antidepressants for a year, and then tapered off.  Looking back, I'd do it that way all over again.  Of course, everyone is different, but things worked well for me going that route.


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RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/13/2010 9:34:26 AM   
Viridana


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quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250

Katy, I don't imagine most G.P.s would even be aware of all the psy meds, dosages, side affects etc these days anyway right?
After all Psychiatry is a very "specialized" section of medicine.
My Internist can't be beat when it comes to the diagnosis but I doubt he'd know much about transplant surgury or opthamology.
He told me once that there are all kinds of surgeons that specialize in all kinds of surgery and the reason that they are good at it is because they do the same thing everyday, shoulder guys, foot guys, hip guys etc.


Actually, pshyciatry and mental health are such a big part of a GPs job that any GP worth his salt should be very up to date with latest theory and protocol in therapy. If the patient's problem supercedes the GPs knowledge or capability, he/she should call in to a specialist for consultation and of course the most difficult cases require referral to a specialist.
This not only applies to pshychiatry but to all other specialties (cardiology, pulmonology, endocrinology, rheumatology etc. etc. and opthalmology ;)  ) GPs are actually the most widely educated of all medical specialties. They need to know most about everything. Specialists are there for the most challenging cases and it is one part of  the GPs job to evaluate whether the problem is something that can be solved in 1° health care or to send it forward to a specialist. If everyone went straight to a specialist with miniscule problems the system would very soon clog and people who actually needed specialist care would have to wait longer.

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Profile   Post #: 51
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/13/2010 11:37:50 AM   
camille65


Posts: 5746
Joined: 7/11/2007
From: Austin Texas
Status: offline 		FR
Yes, as part of my pain management treatment I also had to go through a year of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Starting out I was angry about that and could see no need, somewhat resentful over the whole thing. Eventually I came to see the value in CBT and how I could apply it. Seems very simple in retrospect: change your patterns and your life will change, but apparently I was a slow learner lol.

So for me it wasn't about a personality disorder but how to emotionally deal with living in chronic pain. Very much worth it in the end and some days I wish I were still going.

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RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/13/2010 6:28:30 PM   
KatyLied


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From: Pennsylvania
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quote:

Katy, I don't imagine most G.P.s would even be aware of all the psy meds, dosages, side affects etc these days anyway right?

They definitely are not knowledgeable to the same degree that a psychiatrist would be. 


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(in reply to popeye1250)
Profile   Post #: 53
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/13/2010 6:53:53 PM   
angelikaJ


Posts: 8641
Joined: 6/22/2007
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250




Katy, I don't imagine most G.P.s would even be aware of all the psy meds, dosages, side affects etc these days anyway right?
After all Psychiatry is a very "specialized" section of medicine.
My Internist can't be beat when it comes to the diagnosis but I doubt he'd know much about transplant surgury or opthamology.
He told me once that there are all kinds of surgeons that specialize in all kinds of surgery and the reason that they are good at it is because they do the same thing everyday, shoulder guys, foot guys, hip guys etc.


It really depends on the medication.
SSRIs (like prozac, zoloft and celexa), SSNRIs (cymbalta, effexor, pristiq), and wellbutrin are all pretty straightforward.
They are well studied, the side effect profiles are well known and GPs are pretty well versed in them.

Older drugs in the tricyclic class are often used in the treatment of fibromyalgia and are often used by GPs.

Some anti-depressants work well for insomnia.

So, for mono-drug therapy a GP should be able to manage just fine, but a GP is unlikely to go much beyond that.

Many people end up on more than one drug and once you cross that line you are in the realm of the art of psycho-pharmacology.

Prescribing can get complicated and finding someone skilled makes sense, but for very basic stuff, their knowledge base should be just fine.

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(in reply to popeye1250)
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RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/14/2010 7:08:51 AM   
DesFIP


Posts: 25191
Joined: 11/25/2007
From: Apple County NY
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quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250


quote:

ORIGINAL: KatyLied

Actually I was not saying anything negative about therapy. I strongly feel that if a patient has an affective disorder the patient should see a psychiatrist.  This doctor has vast experience and understanding of the latest drug therapies.


Katy, I don't imagine most G.P.s would even be aware of all the psy meds, dosages, side affects etc these days anyway right?
After all Psychiatry is a very "specialized" section of medicine.



SSRIs are pretty much all off patent by now. Which means they've been out long enough for everyone to be familiar with them. If it's just simple unipolar depression, then yes, your primary could make a damn good guess as to the right med, right dosage etc. If it works on the first try you don't need a referral to a specialist. If it doesn't, then you go.

Sort of like sinus infections. If the antibiotics do the trick I don't go further. If they aren't, then I show up at the ENT.

Of course anything more complex that the primary can't diagnose, then you need a specialist.


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Profile   Post #: 55
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/14/2010 12:09:11 PM   
kiwisub12


Posts: 4742
Joined: 1/11/2006
Status: offline 		Did three years of therapy, and am back with my therapist to help deal with the death of my dad and my dominant 10 days apart. I'm back on track with my life and honestly, if it wasn't for my talk therapy i wouldn't be where i am today.

It sorted out issued in my mind, and lead me to the path i'm on.

And as an aside, my therapist never once told me what to do. He might have suggested, but never instructed. He himself was very surprised when everything he suggested i did right away. Apparently it is very unusual!   And when the notion of me being submissive came up towards the end of the three years - he felt my submissiveness was the reason i whizzed through therapy - i was ascribing dominance to him and reacting to suggestions as commands.  All in all, it was , and continues to be a very enlightening and beneficial process for me.

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Profile   Post #: 56
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/14/2010 10:14:33 PM   
CrispinC


Posts: 32
Joined: 9/14/2010
Status: offline 		I've been to a shrink.  In school I was often bored and got into some fights.  Disrupted class occasionally.  Locked a kid in the janitor's closet for trying to talk to my girlfriend.

My psychiatrist was a Jungian, and insanely hot.  I don't think she helped me much with my behavior (I'm still something of an ass) but I did discover that I found bookish Jewish chicks ridiculously hot.


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Profile   Post #: 57
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/14/2010 10:28:02 PM   
dreamerdreaming


Posts: 2839
Status: offline 		Hell yeah, I've been in therapy! Counseling is kewl.

It helps you figure yourself out, and make the needed/desired changes. It helps a lot! Having someone to talk to, who is knowledgeable but impartial, and can help you think things through and make progress in your life and relationships- is awesome!

But it only helps to the extent that you are able to develop enough trust to reveal what is really bothering you- instead of just talking about everything else in your life. And that takes time, and effort. So make the needed effort, and make the time for it, in your life.

Medication can also help, but it works best in conjunction with counseling.

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Profile   Post #: 58
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/15/2010 6:56:01 PM   
KatyLied


Posts: 13029
Joined: 2/24/2005
From: Pennsylvania
Status: offline 		Therapy is beneficial, especially if you need a safe place to vent, disclose, all in a protective environment where the therapist is there for you.  There are also times when medication is necessary to get things even, to jump start the brain chemistry.  I do agree that the best treatment plan should include medication and therapy.  Change the way a person thinks and you can create lasting change.




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(in reply to dreamerdreaming)
Profile   Post #: 59
RE: Have you ever had Counselling or Therapy? - 9/15/2010 7:23:45 PM   
domiguy


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quote:

ORIGINAL: CrispinC

I've been to a shrink.  In school I was often bored and got into some fights.  Disrupted class occasionally.  Locked a kid in the janitor's closet for trying to talk to my girlfriend.

My psychiatrist was a Jungian, and insanely hot.  I don't think she helped me much with my behavior (I'm still something of an ass) but I did discover that I found bookish Jewish chicks ridiculously hot.




Awesome post. That is probably more insight that most will gain from their visit to these professionals.

(in reply to CrispinC)
Profile   Post #: 60
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