I have a question for you guys and girls: Have any of you been to therapy? Have a honest and actual therapy session with a psychiatrist? I'm interested on how it went. What was the atmosphere? How did he/she talk with you? Did you find the questions, talks hard? How did you feel about opening up to a complete stranger while you knew he was taking notes? Did it actually help I mean no disrespect. I'm asking this purely for research sake for a book I'm writing, because I tried having one therapy session once for the same reason, but I couldn't actually get the whole picture or feel of the experience. I knew how he would go about addressing my problem and every time he would ask a question I would answer with another question or without showing emotion and ended up bypassing the whole therapy session.
RhasAlGhul....Yes, I have been and am still talking to a therapist...every week. Jacob (therapist) has helped me so very, very much. it has been relatively easy to talk to him knowing that there is confidentiality....that no one else will know what I tell him without my permission. He doesn't take notes while we talk. The first time I talked to him I was such a mess...I held it together while sharing the "vanilla" info about my life. When I got to the point of telling him that I was gay it was like a dam breaking. It flooded out in a torrent of sobs and a waterfall of tears. I had kept that secret for 42 years. I came out here on empty closets in Dec. 2014. It was a year before I talked to Jacob and said it out loud, face-to-face to someone for the first time in all those decades. He has been my rock through some difficult times as I have learned that accepting myself was not a one-time experience. So many things have come up that I had not expected in any way. His guidance through those very rough times has allowed me to be happier now than I have been for decades. .....David
Have any of you been to therapy? Yup Have a you had an actual therapy session with a psychiatrist? Relatively honest, yes. But he had a social work degree or something similar, so not technically a psychiatrist. I'm interested on how it went. What was the atmosphere? I thought it was pretty good. How did he/she talk with you? Through my school. I'd email him and set up a appointment every other week. One hour sessions. He wasn't as sympathetic as I would have initially thought, but it makes complete sense to me why and pretty sure that's the standard for therapists. Did you find the questions, talks hard? Yeah. Especially because most of the questions were about how I felt or broad questions. Difficult mostly because of how vulnerable it made me feel . How did you feel about opening up to a complete stranger while you knew he was taking notes? Did it actually help? The note taking was actually nice because it made me feel like he was listening very intently to me lol. Opening up is something that was and still is something that is VERY hard for me. After opening up a few times it gets easier though (that applies to venting to anybody).
Have any of you been to therapy? Yes, several therapists. Group as well as individual. And I have training in counseling as well. Have a you had an actual therapy session with a psychiatrist? Generally speaking, most psychiatrists (in the US, at least) don't do therapy; they typically deal with severe mental health issues and prescribe medications. But if you're talking with a therapist, yes, several, as I said above. I'm interested on how it went. What was the atmosphere? Good therapy is a godsend. The therapist helps you gain perspective, explores possible ways to reframe your perspective if you wish to, helps you open up and explore parts of yourself you may be unaware of. With the right therapist, it is a place of unconditional support and acceptance, but also one where you have the chance to challenge your perceptions and look at what is or is not working for you. How did he/she talk with you? Most of my sessions were in person. With one therapist, I was traveling a lot, so we'd do some sessions by phone. Each of my different therapists had different approaches to communication, but for the most part there's back-and-forth. Some therapists talk far less than others, and this is in part personal style, and in part theoretical orientation. Did you find the questions, talks hard? Good therapy has its ups and downs, and it can be very hard work. But hard work in a good way... basically encouraging me to go deeper into beliefs or perspectives that limit me, or to explore dissociated parts of self. How did you feel about opening up to a complete stranger while you knew he was taking notes? Did it actually help? Unquestionably helped. And a good therapist (each of mine were good, though some were better than others) makes it pretty easy to open up. The level of openness and trust takes some time to develop for most people, but the way in which the client/therapist relationship unfolds has a lot to do with that.
1. Have any of you been to therapy? Yes - child therapy with some councillors three seperate times with a number of sessions in each. (answering on this > ) As an adult, another therapist working on EMDR and CBT for OCD/anxiety/depression/post-trauatic stress 2. Have a honest and actual therapy session with a psychiatrist? Yes - testing for OCD then he also did diagnosis of anxiety and depression What was the atmosphere? 1. Okay most of the time - warm, smells nice 2. Alright, some aqward pauses waiting for him to talk whilst he's giving me space to talk, listens to my consern How did he/she talk with you? 1. Chatty at the beginning, then goes to the EMDR work and goes all clinical 2. Like a GP really, asks questions Did you find the questions, talks hard? 1. It was alright, sometimes a bit hard to clarify the definitions 2. Okay but I find the EMDR like she says "where are you now?" and everything is blank half the time I make stuff (relevent) up based on how I've felt in anxiety when remembering back. A. How did you feel about opening up to a complete stranger while you knew s/he was taking notes? B. Did it actually help? 1. A. Kind of difficult to talk about some stuff because she would dismiss it (my anxieties towards not being able to leave an abusive relationship when a woman is abusing me) and say ''it's not helpful'' to discuss this but it would if she'd listen to me B. Well when she writes down the depression/anxiety scores it is neutral, I already wrote out the scores. 2. A. Don't mind much to be honest, they just write what I say. B. Neutral, it's just what I say (I can read upside down)
That's why I'm asking because my session was awkward, that's what happens when your therapist psychoanalyzes you and you deflect everything he asks or says with questions and try your damn best to study his behavior and psychoanalyze him. I'm weird...so I didn't actually talk about my problems which to be honest weren't such a big deal, nothing I couldn't handle. I like to think of myself as a strong person that can deal on my own with my issues. It really doesn't help that I have a Polemic personality and that because of it I tend to second guess everything and everyone. So that's why I'm asking because I want an honest opinion from people that have had positive or negative experiences with therapy because I want the therapy sessions my character has to feel real and legitimate. Thank you all for sharing your experiences, it really helps.
All of my therapy sessions were done over the phone. I wasn't suffering from clinical levels of depression so I didn't need to see a practitioner in person, it was more convenient to just spend an hour talking with her on the phone. I would have a notebook with me and follow her instructions and she would also email me and post me resources to help me with my therapy. I found it much easier talking to a stranger about my problems than talking to a friend or family member. Friends and family, while they have good intentions, don't actually know what advice to give you, they will just fob you off with speeches like "it'll be fine/you'll be fine. Don't worry" which doesn't help because you stop worrying for a few minutes or hours, only to start worrying again later. Or they tell you to "man up and get on with it, there's nothing wrong with you", which is no help because then you have more feelings of guilt and inadequacy added onto the negative emotions you're already feeling. A therapist has studied the mind and how different circumstances can affect your moods and emotions. They might not know you personally, but they do know the science behind what you're thinking and feeling, and that's how they help you approach your problem. They don't tell you to ignore your problem and get on with it, they help you confront your problem and they help you think differently about yourself. It helped me to see myself with fresh eyes, so that I could take action and start healing myself of the thoughts and feeling that were bothering me. I recommend therapy to anyone. It's seeing a doctor for your mind. If you have a physical problem like an injury or an infection, you don't ask a family member to fix it for you, you see a professional who diagnoses you and prescribes you the right treatment. That's how you look after your body. A therapist helps you look after your mind in ways that family and friends can't help you.
A good therapist will identify that behavior immediately (it's common, actually) and the action s/he takes depends a lot on how long the client has been seeing the therapist. If it's a new relationship, the therapist will generally let the client get away with it, because s/he realizes that it's a defense mechanism for someone who isn't yet ready to open up; pushing back too hard will cause the client to resist, and often those clients just drop out of therapy entirely, which doesn't help anyone. But once the therapist/client relationship has developed, the therapist may ask permission to basically call the client on those behaviors to move things forward. And in any case, a good therapist will definitely bring it up and give the client the option of just continuing to talk in circles and deflect (which will result in virtually no progress) or to actually go into the fear and address the core issues. I would suggest that the best way to really understand it is to consider going back to therapy yourself (which it sounds like you could use), basically say everything you've said here, and encourage the therapist to really go more deeply into your avoidant behaviors. I don't think you can really understand it fully until you've experienced it.
I go to see a therapist that's a gay male, I came out to him, and I'm sure you can imagine that's a big help because he understands my situation more than straight people do.
Have any of you been to therapy? Yup. I have a bit of anxiety (i say "a bit" because it's not something that paralyzes me), so i have been seeing a therapist for almost two years now. Have a you had an actual therapy session with a psychiatrist? With a psychologist, yes, but not with a psychiatrist. I'm interested on how it went. What was the atmosphere? I have been to three different psychologists on my life (for different reasons). I think i'm lucky, but in all three cases, they were excelent professionals. I felt welcome, and i easily developed a trust relationship with them. About the one i'm seeing currently, the sessions are almost like a conversation with a friend (it feels like that, but i know that she is prepared to say things a friend without knowledge about psychologist isn't). Like i always tell her, the start of the session is always a bit awkard - i sit in front of her and i start telling her about my week. But once i start talking, it flows really well and the hour passes really quickly. It is awesome! How did he/she talk with you? She makes comments and questions that make the problem(s) clearer to me, so it is easier for me to decide a course of action. Obviously, she doesn't (and she can't) tell me what to do, but she helps me to "guide my own thoughts" in the right direction, if that makes any sense. It is like talking to a very wise friend, who isn't telling me what to do, but helps me to discover that on my own. Did you find the questions, talks hard? It feels very natural to me. Of course, some problems are harder to talk about (especially when you are discovering "dark parts" of yourself), but i enjoy talking and learning about myself, so therapy is usually relaxing - if not on the moment i'm talking about something delicate, the feeling of "weight-lifted-of-shoulders" after that is great! How did you feel about opening up to a complete stranger while you knew he was taking notes? Did it actually help? She doesn't write/take notes in front of me (although i know she keeps a notebook where she writes down the important stuff after the section). Like i said, to me, it feels great, because i don't see her as a stranger - she is a professional that studied to do what she is doing. And, even if we are not really friends (as it is a professional relationship), I feel very comfortable telling her about my problems - more comfortable than telling my friends, in some cases. It helps a lot. There are bad therapists out there, unfortunately, but if you are with a good one (the majority, i hope so), it is definitely worth it. My friends and mother noticed the changes i went through after therapy - i still have anxiety, but i'm much more "focused" and calm than before. Therapy was essential for me to be what i am today, that's for sure.
Maybe I will, since I'll have psychiatry internship in a few weeks. I need to understand the patient point of view because the psychiatrist point of view I have it down.
Hello All....I've already replied to this post and shared how much therapy and in particular my therapist have helped me. I'm excited tonight because tomorrow I get to drive 300 miles to participate in a gay mens group therapy session with my therapist! I've only been able to attend twice before, once last December and then again in February, so this is very special for me. The feeling I get being in a room with 8-10 other gay guys sharing and listening to each other is just wonderful. While I am out to a number of people, I only have three gay friends who I can talk to and they all live far away. It's facetime or skype to talk to them and to my therapist, except on the rare occasion that I get to travel to his office. So tomorrow will be so great that I just had to share!! .....David
