Therapy?

[Oli]

So I've seen psychological treatment spoken of quite highly on this forum. It's definitely something I'm considering for my borderline depression and low self esteem. Was wondering what people found the therapy most helpful for. Was it creating self-awareness, improving happiness, self-esteem... or was it pretty much all of these combined?

[bwong]

Therapy is an outlet to truly dig deep in yourself. What its most helpful for really depends on what kind of issues and problems you are experiencing. Strictly speaking from personal experience, I suffered depression and extremely low self esteem for about 8 years, went through a whole bunch of different therapists and never found it helpful, mainly because I wasn't really intouch or aware of myself (which for a teenager can be difficult). How I manage to finally break out of my depression was through action; bettering myself and taking myself out of my comfort zone, which was from staying home playing video games all day to moving to a new city. I'm proud to say that I've worked on a lot on myself and I have a much better outlook in life. Sure I have occasional mood swings where I'm feeling down, but not to the point where I've hit rock bottom (and how far down it went).

If you have any questions or want to hear more of my experience with depression and some things to overcome it feel free to PM me.

[Oli]

Thanks for the response bwong. Yeah, don't really know what I was trying to achieve with the question. I guess what kind of tangential gains I can look for from therapy, and to get a better understanding and perspective. Action is definitely huge. Cutting out negative self-talk, setting boundaries, accepting emotions are things which all have huge effects on my well-being on top of working on goals, eating healthy, working out, being social, cutting out masturbation and drugs. I'll see what I can learn and add from session.

[bwong]

Here's the thing with therapy: you can't really set a deadline for it as "all my problems will be solved at x point of time." Also with therapy I recommend you find a therapist who you are comfortable with AND STICK WITH THEM. This is extremely important if you want progress as switching from therapist to therapist not only wastes your time, but stops you from progressing through your issues.

[Braedon625]

Great sharing.
It depends on your personality.
If you like what they do then it is for you .
I didn't like one part of it but it was mandatory.

[Guyintheback]

I was in therapy for a while. My two cents would be:

- Find a therapist you are comfortable with. They are just humans. With some you will "click", others won't really understand you, or will try to work with you in a way that is not fitting for you.
- More important: Therapy does hurt. For me therapy was looking at the things I was trying to avoid looking at. It was hard and painful work, not as much fun as it looks on television. But the more honest you are to your therapist and yourself, the more you will get out of it, and the quicker.

EDIT: In my experience the things that will need "fixing" will turn up themselves in the course of a few sessions.

[Halo Effect]

Another way therapy can be effective is that just by talking about yourself and your problems you can bring clarity and clear up emotions, moreso if the therapist can ask you good questions to probe deeper.

Especially if you tend to hide things that you feel ashamed about in your life, bringing these things up and talking about them can bring great relief. Feeling at ease with your therapist and having him understand you is important there. Try out more than one therapist if you can.

[Oli]

Any certifications to look out for? Avoid psychiatrists? CBT vs. Psychotherapy? I was just recently seeing a psychiatrist while I was home over the last month. I thought he was a bit of an asshole, but helpful nonetheless. Had pretty much a mental breakdown last week after about four sessions. It was brutal, but I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger... lol

[Creatine Dreams]

Do you guys recommend a male or female therapist?

[Mark]

(03-29-2012 10:49 PM)Creatine Dreams Wrote:  Do you guys recommend a male or female therapist?

Whatever you feel more comfortable with.

[Matt T]

I've had both. I've had a better experience with females overall, but if you have some sexual issues, you may find it uncomfortable to discuss them with a female.

[Mark]

I consciously chose a younger male therapist because I felt he may be able to relate to my issues more. He was great. I know Tucker Max said that he consciously chose a female therapist who he wasn't sexually attracted to.

[Matt T]

My last female therapist was older than my mom, so fortunately there was nothing sexual there lol.

[Creatine Dreams]

(03-30-2012 08:31 PM)Mark Wrote:  I consciously chose a younger male therapist because I felt he may be able to relate to my issues more. He was great. I know Tucker Max said that he consciously chose a female therapist who he wasn't sexually attracted to.

Yeah, I think this may be a good idea for me too. I had gone to a female therapist largely because I thought talking to a female would help me understand my issues with women better. That didn't really work. I think if I decide to see a therapist in the future, I will go see a male therapist who may be able to relate to me better and offer me some guidance.

[Thor]

I did ten sessions with a hynotherapist. It was expensive but it was worthwhile money spent. I was recommended a particular bloke who turned out to be really cool it was almost like having a second father I could talk to someone who who would listen. My father was the root cause of my self esteem issues which I had to sort out.