Discussion People who've gotten therapy, does it help?

[Yuki K]

What did you get therapy for? Did it help? Also what's the main purpose of therapy? How much does it cost per session?

 

[symphony]

I've been in therapy for years for depression and anxiety. It helps, but it's limited. I find therapy makes it easier for me to get through the day and cope a little easier. It doesn't make my depression any less severe or painful. It helps me to have a safe space to process what I'm feeling. Cost varies based on whether your therapist takes insurance. Many who don't take insurance offer sliding scale fees. I pay $25 for an hour right now. I'd recommend at least trying it out for a few sessions if you're curious, though it can be hard sometimes to find the "right" therapist for you.

 

[TransilvanianHunger]

It has helped me, yes. I don't have a diagnosis for anything, and don't particularly care about getting one, but the symptoms of schizoid personality disorder describe me quite well. The thing that made me seek therapy after years and years of thinking about it was realising that I kept getting in my own way due to various personality traits of mine. Work, relationships, friendships, opportunities, etc., lost because I don't relate to others in "normal" ways. It's not that I can't, I don't think. The ways people relate to each other mostly seem really weird to me, and I have no interest in learning how to play along. I'm perfectly fine being alone—I have plenty of interests to keep me busy. However, as you can imagine, this is not a great way to do things in a society where we're all supposed to be interdependent to some degree.

Seeking therapy was an attempt to reconcile my personality quirks with the requirements of real life in a society. Not changing my personality, mind you. Therapy's not going to do that. What it does, at least for me, is it helps me figure out which bits are really me, which bits are internalised bollocks that I've picked up along the way, why I care about certain things but not others, etc. It's an exercise in questioning myself, pretty much. This allows me to be more mindful of my actions, my motives, my responses to situations and people... It's made a big difference for me.

The cost side of it will vary quite a bit depending on where you are. I know that in the US it can be quite expensive, and dealing with insurance companies will give you one more reason to seek therapy when you're done with it. In the UK, the main struggle seems to be with availability. I don't live in either of those places, so it's not something I have to deal with. My therapist has a private practice, and I deal with them directly. Currently I'm paying the equivalent of $25 USD per 1 hour session.

 

[user_name_here]

mine did a bit of both.

it helped to some extent, but my therapist also made it worse.

be careful what you share with them, they're not always trying to help. But please do give therapy a try. my experiences aren't the same as others.

 

[CantWait2D1E]

Big waste of time.

 

[Yuki K]

Big waste of time.

Do you mind elaborating on that a bit?

 

[CantWait2D1E]

Sure.

My biggest problem with therapy is it's just a bunch of venting. They lead with simple questions like "how are you feeling" or "what have you been up to" and expect you to just ramble on about stuff for the duration of the session.

It's very much a situation of "what you put into it is what you get outa it." If you're kinda withdrawn like me and not the best at articulating your feelings then conversation goes a bit flat.

Very rarely was I given tools to manage my emotions or told halfway decent advice.

So yeah, if you need an outlet to express yourself therapy can be helpful. Honestly this forum does just as good if not better than a therapist in terms of that. Plus it's free and I don't gotta spend time driving there and back, sitting in a session I'd rather not be in.

 

[magicalsarcoma]

I had the experience of interacting with a private psychologist, then with a private psychoanalyst
I also involuntarily stayed in a state psychiatric hospital. For a short period of time i visited a state psychotherapist and a state psychiatrist.
Probably, I'll never go to such specialists again, only if for the sake of prescriptions for medicines. Most likely, the problem is in me or in the fact that the branch of psychiatry in my country, in principle, is not very developed. But i was very disappointed in all this. Waste of time, money and nerves

 

[Yuki K]

Sure.

My biggest problem with therapy is it's just a bunch of venting. They lead with simple questions like "how are you feeling" or "what have you been up to" and expect you to just ramble on about stuff for the duration of the session.

It's very much a situation of "what you put into it is what you get outa it." If you're kinda withdrawn like me and not the best at articulating your feelings then conversation goes a bit flat.

Very rarely was I given tools to manage my emotions or told halfway decent advice.

So yeah, if you need an outlet to express yourself therapy can be helpful. Honestly this forum does just as good if not better than a therapist in terms of that. Plus it's free and I don't gotta spend time driving there and back, sitting in a session I'd rather not be in.

i do agree this forum acts like therapy and actually gives you the answers you want. Provides info on various methods so that we don't opt for a dangerous method with low success rates

 

[noname223]

I had 3 psychotherapies and several clinic stays. Yes they helped. The third psychotherapy was so far the best. It was worth to spend time and energy on it. I have several conditions psychosis, bipolar, OCD etc. I have made a lot of threads on my personal story.

Here is for example a thread where I described the benefits of therapy more in detail.

Which were the biggest problems you could solve in your life? And how have you done it?

Usually we look at which mistakes we have caused. But I try to see it from another perspective in this thread. Maybe to think about this in this way could be seen as self-empowerment. We look at our skills and how we might can solve problems that seem to be too difficult. I think I am unable to...

sanctioned-suicide.net

 

[Nohw]

Well, I spent 4 years of my childhood doing therapy and it didn't help at all, not one bit. I decided to go back during a manic episode so I can't really tell if it helped that much but I felt a difference, especially with my BDD.
So, I guess if you get a therapist that works for you and you practice what they tell you, it may work.

 

[AscendedBeing]

In my case no. It's always felt fake and they just wanna throw meds at me that numb the mind completely plus make me tired. That's not the case for everyone though everyone reacts differently to treatment.

 

[idlegirl]

i've been in therapy for a few months now and it helps a lot just after i've seen him and then i tend to dip a few days after the session again. i'm struggling to use what i learn in the sessions irl. i really like my therapist though and he's a great man.

 

[Zetsubou]

Don't know if this counts, but I've used the counseling center at my campus since it was covered by my insurance. It was a mixed bag for me. The first person I talked to was actually decent and we managed to make some progress with the issues I was going through at the time. Unfortunately, they were also pregnant and left the practice shortly afterwards to raise their kid. A few years later, I tried again with a different counselor. This one actually made me feel worse. They acted as if they knew my problems better than me, and during our first session, they tried to diagnose my mom (???) when I brought up some issues I was having with her. Fortunately, this person was also pregnant and left the practice shortly afterwards (just my luck to get two counselors in a row who were pregnant and were planning on leaving).

As others have mentioned before, it all depends on who you get.

 

[stermc]

I have been to therapy on and off since I was 4 years old. I am 24 for now, so. Yep. I have to be honest: I don't like therapy, but for sure, if I want to keep my sanity, I need it.
I would say that, in my conception, there are two really important things to get great results:
1- You need to find the right therapist for you. There are some therapists you are not going to like and you are going to feel awkward all the time, but you gotta look for someone who makes you feel comfortable enough. The psychological approach is also important, so you can try different types of it and see what fits you the best.
2- You need to open your heart and mind, be honest to them, and also work on yourself. For example, if you guys talk about something during the session, I would say it's important to reflect on it later. It takes commitment. It will only help you if you commit yourself to it.

In my case, it helps a lot IF I am with the right therapist and as long as I am committed to it. Currently I think I have my perfect match lol
It's truly incredible the amount of things I have found out about myself since I am with this one therapist. She is truly amazing; she doesn't judge me (and I say a lot of crazy shit to that lady). She simply helps me understand myself by making me talk and kind of guides me a little bit.

Well, that's my experience. So the answer is yes and no. It depends on many factors. But it surely can help you.

 

[imlookingforward]

ive tried it but honestly talking about my "real" problems and traumas is way too difficult, i can only cry and just go nonverbal, so at this point ive given up. but it's very specific for me, i'm sure it can help.

 

[ratlover223]

i've been to two therapists - one was bad but the other was OKAY. it definitely depends on which therapist is good for you. i'm not really good at voicing my feelings so for an hour in the session i'd either sit there or talk about random stuff like league of legends (just to take my mind off the pressure of speaking). i just feel like therapy sucks for me because in the moment of talking to them i would not know what to talk about. i'd feel okay in that moment.

 

[dontfearthereaper11]

My experience with therapy was very cut and dry. I suppose I didn't have a great therapist, as I spent most of my time discussing my day in simplicity and never really receiving any kind of feedback. It almost felt like I was just talking to a stranger about my going on's in life as opposed to feeling like anything was being done. But perhaps it was the therapist I had. I do think therapy can be beneficial for some, but not for all as some people are simply not great at voicing how they truly feel, even when told they're in a safe place to do so. I do think it is always a good thing to try though, if you have access to it.

 

[tuyu]

This is something I struggle with at the moment. I don't see the point of going to therapy (in my country, subsidized therapy = happy waiting for 3 months every session. Only the rich can afford to get therapy 2-4x a month through private practices which usually aren't subsidized at all unless you work for a company like Meta) because I've been waiting to off myself since I was so young basically because of existentialism and feeling like struggling with life just for a sense of purpose is so pointless…

Anyway. Im still going for therapy sessions and paying out of pocket because my psychiatrist recommended so. It's been about half a year, and I don't think much has changed. They did teach me some ways to calm myself down. Also so far we did some exploration of my childhood (my logically mind tells the therapist every session that I think this is useless, but they claim I'm so out of touch with emotions so this is a way to get me to warm up?) I think my problems are too deep seated and I probably need years of therapy if it would even help.

Also from my pov I would invest in a good psychologist for a therapist if you can (someone with a. Dr title). Not just some person with just a certificate because I feel like they might be ill equipped for … severe issues (im guessing whatever issues we are facing here it's pretty severe seeing we are on this forum :) )

 

[Live and Let Die]

What did you get therapy for? Did it help? Also what's the main purpose of therapy? How much does it cost per session?

i went to therapy for suicidal tendencies but we didnt really talk about that, more or less things that could be improved and how they could be improved in my life. and the point of therapy is rehabilitation, since healthcare is publicly funded, i never spent a dime for my therapy sessions. if one therapist doesnt seem to do the trick, try getting a different one.

 

[HappiestAngel]

I've found that stuff like psycho education makes me feel more at peace. Like if I'm not feeling wel knowing why makes me feel a bit more in control. Also after getting therapy I also got meds which make me calmer and give me less mood swings. So if I do ctb I'll be in a peacefull state when I do.