Has anyone been to therapy before? If so, how was it?

[blackchair]

therapy is great (yes yes Marko will use the "N-word" right now) when you are normie (there it is!!!) but then it stopped working.....

[Charlotte]

You get out of it what you put into it (or don't) and the mind set you have (beliefs, ideas) you hold whilst going into it. 

[kamwalker]

When I’m alone I talk my deepest thoughts out loud to myself to flesh them out. I also take psychedelics occasionally with my closest friend and we share with each other things on our mind. I haven’t felt therapy was necessary up to this point, but perhaps there is something I’m not covering with the two methods I listed? 

[decentralized]

11 hours ago, Shin said:

Have you tried traditional CBT (not ACT or Mindful one) ?

A regular psychologist won't do much except hearing what you say, but a traditional CBT therapist will directly work with you on a specific goal.

They are generally more on your level and directly explain what might be your problem, how it is sustaining itself, what you need to do as in practical exercices in between sessions, and there is a definite goal that you set with them etc.

Don't expect all that from the first or two sessions though, they aren't magicians and still need to probe your mind a little to be relatively sure of what is your core issue.

Honestly I don't remember if they were CBT because I was going to high school back then. The last therapist I consciously chose was an Existential Therapist, I was quite hyped for that therapy but it turns out he is one of those therapists who only memorized all those books and try to categorize me as one of the psychological definitions. He didn't give me any exercises but simply listened to me. I was seeing him about 4-6 months but after a while I couldn't take it any longer.

After I quit therapy, I felt more open to different ideas and started to feel interested in spirituality. I listened to one of Leo's guided meditations, and during the trance state I saw very colorful and bright spiral fractals for the first time in my life, I never thought that was possible. That experience opened many doors for me and after a few months I met my soul mate, they are the one who helped me make the real progress.

But I'm sure there are lots of therapists out there who REALLY wants to help their patients, this is only my experience from a 2nd-3rd world country with no real business ethics.

[ZenSwift]

EMDR therapy is overpowered. 

I used to have so much anxiety that I couldn't go outside. 

Now, with only doing a few sessions, all that is behind me. 

[BipolarGrowth]

It was mostly unhelpful other than giving me time to develop friendships with the therapists lol. Spending time around intelligent and nuanced people was good. 

[Zigzag Idiot]

i went to a reputable therapist a few years ago and unloaded all the lowdown, shameful, dirty, corrupt, humiliating events and episodes that i could recall. My attempt at some proactive shadow work. i feel it helped me and I would recommend it to others who may be so inclined. Just be sure and comfortable with the therapist you pick. 5 or 6 appointments was all it took. it really does help to unload that stuff in front of another human being. a therapist who has been around for a while has probably heard it all and will not be judgemental. 

[Shin]

On 17/10/2021 at 8:06 PM, decentralized said:

Honestly I don't remember if they were CBT because I was going to high school back then. The last therapist I consciously chose was an Existential Therapist, I was quite hyped for that therapy but it turns out he is one of those therapists who only memorized all those books and try to categorize me as one of the psychological definitions. He didn't give me any exercises but simply listened to me. I was seeing him about 4-6 months but after a while I couldn't take it any longer.

After I quit therapy, I felt more open to different ideas and started to feel interested in spirituality. I listened to one of Leo's guided meditations, and during the trance state I saw very colorful and bright spiral fractals for the first time in my life, I never thought that was possible. That experience opened many doors for me and after a few months I met my soul mate, they are the one who helped me make the real progress.

But I'm sure there are lots of therapists out there who REALLY wants to help their patients, this is only my experience from a 2nd-3rd world country with no real business ethics.

That sounds good and all, but will you try it ?

[soos_mite_ah]

On 10/15/2021 at 1:42 PM, 7thLetter said:

Title says it, share your therapy experience with us 

I’m thinking of going to therapy myself for specific reasons and I’d like to hear other people’s stories.

Was it helpful? Did you go in to seek help for a specific issue you were dealing with or did you go in just for a general issue? In what way has it improved your life?

I have and it's so incredibly helpful. I went in with a general issue which was to deal with the abuse I experienced as a child. Under that general issue, I had a lot of smaller, specific issues that I wanted to address ranging from building up my self esteem, focusing on school, coping with grief, healing my attachment style, setting boundaries and more. 

Therapy has given me a place where I can vent about my issues, whether they are things in the past or present, in a safe place without causing additional strain on my friendships. Don't get me wrong, their support is great and being emotionally open is important, but always going to them with heavy topics can weigh the relationship down. Once I started therapy, instead of constantly venting to other people, I had a designated professional listen to me once a week. Delegating my emotional intensity to a therapist opened up more room for more lighthearted conversations with my friends where we were having fun and relaxing. Going to therapy is also good because you have someone else questioning your biases for you so you don't go down the wrong path when you are contemplating something. It's a nice check to keep you accountable so you do what you need to do as far as coping skills go and so that you come up with valuable insights. 

I would also highly recommend journaling and studying the issues you are having problems with prior to your sessions and in between sessions so you can get the most out of therapy and not waste your time. For example, I know that I am dealing with childhood emotional neglect so I went ahead and watched a bunch of videos on it, took notes on things that resonated with me, and noted down instances in my life that caused the issue to manifest. This is something that is probably a bit much because I'm meticulous when it comes to these types of things, but my first exposure to therapy was through my college's health center. They only have a max of 8 therapy sessions  per year. Before starting school, I made a word document that was 30 pages long on all of the abusive instances in my life, how it makes me feel, what issues it's causing me currently, and how I'm trying to deal with it. I unpacked each of those things in therapy and having that written down helped me stay on track and know what exactly I need to talk about. It streamlined the process significantly. 

Edited October 19, 2021 by soos_mite_ah

[Jacob Morres]

i do not recommend betterhelp 

betterhelp is a new platform for affordable therapy but the problem is i think (no offense) attracts therapists that may be new and lesser competent. they also get paid very little. ive heard like $25/hr which is ridiculous as therapists usually make $200 / hr 

i had 4 therapists from there (they let you swap until you find one you like) and they were so lowly skilled relative to the ones i got who charge market rates.

im sure though, if you do not have insurance or can't afford it, they are probably helpful. but for me, it just didnt suit my needs 

 

 

 

[Egzoset]

Make sure to read through RateMDs before you go.

 

[Lyubov]

I feel quite grateful because my therapist has helped me a lot and was just the right fit for me. They do psychedelics and are aware of spiritual awakening. I would describe their approach as holistic but also quite hands off. They don’t really have some major approach, just reflecting and helping processes powerful emotions.