4 ms·

A personal question, if I may. I think seeing a therapist would be good for me, I have issues I'm struggle to fix myself but how does the conversation even sta

• chrisco255 6y ago
  I've only had one therapist but she was extremely good. And she would ask a lot of questions. She'd get me to untangle a lot of my thought processes. She'd ask me about the past and have me dig into that and really ask tough to answer questions that forced me to think about why I thought the way I did. It took probably a good dozen or so sessions to get to the point where I was relatively healed and even then it took some time after, but by then I was able to regulate my anxiety on my own.
• throwaway28191 6y ago
  I also thought about that every time before I started therapy. Often multiple problems are leading to symptoms and you are not able to pinpoint the exact problem. You don't have to. And often it is not just one thing, it never was for me. That's exactly why you going to therapy. You can start by telling you're needing help because you at a point where you cannot fix your issues anymore yourself and then just start with one of your issues, it will flow way easier than you think. Never forget, the therapist probably had hundreds of patients like you with the same problem getting started which means he probably knows a thing or two to help you get started :)
• rocqua 6y ago
  When I went the question wasn't "What is wrong" it was "What brought you here, and what do you want to be different at the end of this". I think if you give an honest answer to either question that can be a pretty good starting point. Even if you feel your honest answer isn't specific enough (e.g. "I just want to feel like I am worth something" or "after this maybe I don't want to kill myself" or "I want to be able to enjoy myself more") the therapist can start there. And really a large part of therapy seems to be diagnosis, with the added benefit that the clarity you get from working towards diagnosis (and the ability to confide in someone) already being helpful. I would suggest just going to see someone and being as honest about why you are there, and what you hope to change as you can bear. The therapist will take the conversation from there. And if you ever feel resistance to being honest about something, just say that. You aren't required to be fully open about everything. And no therapist is ever going to sit there thinking you are an idiot. They are there to help people, and they probably recognize that seeking help is hard. I think they will appreciate and respect the effort it takes for someone to seek help. They certainly won't ridicule someone for not knowing exactly what they want. Because they know how hard that stuff is when it comes to mental well-being.
• PuffinBlue 6y ago
  You don't actually have to say anything. The therapist is expert in asking questions. There is no burden on you to self-diagnose. You can even truly leap the conversation forward with something as simple as what you wrote in your message: "I have issues I'm struggle to fix myself" That is as good a place to start as any, but there is no expectation for you to come to the meeting ready to say that. And you will lose nothing by not saying it. My advice, after long experience, is simply to go in the moment and see what becomes of it. The prize of health is worth it.
• raducu 6y ago
  Make a list while not with a therapist -- what do you want to fix? Another way to start is checking if you match these (though you could be suffering from one and not even recognise it by reading the abstract description): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maladaptive_schemas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maladaptive_schemas -- if you match any, this is a great place to start, regardless of the therapy affiliation. I really like Schema Therapy, though I've only seen one therapist qualified in it, and while she started great -- gave me a long questionnaire that pointed out my maladaptive schemas I already knew were present(she made me feel "wow, finally, a great professional, just like I read in the manual they should be"), she just didn't stick at all to the Schema Therapy session protocol I read in the manual and the sessions just devolved into the usual "so how have you been since our last session .... bla bla bla ... you're making great progress" that I'm all too familiar with all the therapists that I know. So whatever therapy you choose, try to find a therapist that's also sticking to the therapy method.
  • andi999 6y ago
    How do you prioritize the list if you match a couple of them.
    • PascLeRasc 6y ago
      You've already prioritized it! If you've found a few things from there that match how you feel that's a great place to start. You could even bring that list to a therapist and go over it with them.
    • raducu 6y ago
      You don't have to do the prioritization yourself, you could do it with the therapist. You could ask yourself witch bothers you the most. Also if there are clusters of schemas, start with the ones in the same cluster, but your therapist should also be able help with what to start. I do know of such a prioritization for BPD where you first have to learn to answer back to your internalized "punitive/critical parent" mode, and eventually eliminate it, because it will sabotage your progress, just like a real life punitive/critical parent would.
• mbrock 6y ago
  In my experience, they will be happy to start anywhere, like just how is your day today for example. You can just talk and they will listen and ask about stuff that they think might be relevant. Whatever is “wrong” it will probably come up in some way if you just talk about your day with an experienced therapist. You don’t need a clear statement to come with, they know that they’ll have to talk and that it might even take several sessions to start formulating something. I can imagine even starting by saying “I don’t really know what is wrong and what to say, so I’m afraid I’ll just be awkward and you’ll think I’m an idiot” and they’ll be like “Haha, that’s interesting, do you often feel like other people might think you’re an idiot?” and you’re up and running!
  • convFixb 6y ago
    >> [...] Haha, that’s interesting, [...] Sounds like something Dr. Sbaitso would say.. And he's a lot cheaper! :)
    • olyjohn 6y ago
      I'm just glad my therapist doesn't wipe off his memory contents after I leave...
• m_fayer 6y ago
  It's literally their job to deal with this. In fact, I think most therapists assume the problem their patients walk in with is not the true problem, and it will take months to just get to the real thing. So, if you walk in without a fully fleshed-out theory of yourself, the therapist will be privately relieved.
• jointpdf 6y ago
  From an erstwhile therapy procrastinator: First of all, don’t stress about explaining “what’s wrong” to a therapist before you meet them, or let this become a barrier to you getting started (I fell into this trap for years myself). A simple “Hi my name is X and I’ve been been thinking about finding a therapist to work on some issues with. When would you be available for an initial call?” is perfectly sufficient. A thing people say about therapy is that it’s like a bit like dating. Don’t be discouraged if it takes a few tries to find someone who is accepting new patients and feels like a good fit (most will offer a free consultation as well to help you evaluate this). Give them a fair shot, a few sessions at least (I was skeptical of a therapist I was randomly assigned ~10yrs ago, but he swiftly cured a very acute case of hypochondria that had bubbled up out of nowhere. However, you should move on to the next one if it really isn’t working—unlike dating, your therapist won’t be hurt (or if they are, then they have the tools to deal with it right?). This is probably the best directory for finding local therapists: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists Most will give you a set of questionnaires to complete before or during your first appointment (e.g.: https://www.uwgb.edu/UWGBCMS/media/Continueing-Professional-Education/files/Assess-Pkt-1-Burns-Depression-Checklist.pdf https://www.uwgb.edu/UWGBCMS/media/Continueing-Professional-...). This gives them a coarse baseline of what’s going on. The conversation simply evolves from there. Over time, you will occasionally pull out surprising memories and insights from the depths of your mind like the proverbial Mary Poppins bag. There’s a lot in all of us to unpack, and they are there to facilitate that process. A common attitude (again, one I’ve suffered myself) toward therapy is: “What will a therapist tell me that I don’t already know? I can solve these problems on my own if I actually tried.” Maybe, but the operative word phrase here is “actually tried”. Actively reflecting on your thoughts/emotions/actions and vocalizing them to another person for an hour is challenging, but it is therapeutic in and of itself. It’s very hard to do on your own, and sometimes take a probing question or two to dislodge a blind spot. Also, if you want to listen to some real therapy sessions (intermixed with lecture content on the theory and research behind a common type of therapy), these lectures on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are excellent. It follows a few different people from the very beginning (skeptical of or unsure about therapy or what their deeper issues are) through their process of improvement via weekly sessions/assignments. It can really help demystify therapy for the unfamiliar: (https://www.audible.com/pd/Cognitive-Behavioral-Therapy-Audiobook/B00ZB7Q1RS https://www.audible.com/pd/Cognitive-Behavioral-Therapy-Audi...) PS—Keep asking good questions.
• learnstats2 6y ago
  My current therapist had an intake questionnaire which focussed on 'getting to know you' conversational questions: there wasn't an expectation that I would need to prepare anything in advance. It was immediately clear to me that she was warm and personable - for this reason, the article linked above resonated with me a lot. I don't feel that I have any more ability to explain the state of my mental health than I did at the start of the sessions, but I'd definitely credit her with improving it. To reflect on what you have said: If you ask me how my mental health has improved, I genuinely don't know. I just know that it has.
• srean 6y ago
  I'll need some information first Just the basic facts Can you show me where it hurts? … When I was a child I had a fever My hands felt just like two balloons Now I've got that feeling once again I can't explain you would not understand This is not how I am
  • sideshowb 6y ago
    Very relevant: A lot of Pink Floyd deals with themes so universal everyone can relate. Time, money, trust, madness.
• bitcurious 6y ago
  Are you familiar with rubber duck debugging? The idea is that when you (as a developer) run into a software bug you can't fix, you try to describe it out loud to a rubber duck. It turns out that the act of formulating these thoughts into speech is massively effective as a debugging method. So my challenge to you is to revisit this statement: >If they asked me what is wrong, I genuinely don't know. Instead of shutting down because you don't know, just start speaking. Keep speaking. Deliberately turn off your filter. If that's hard, narrow the question. Instead answering "what's wrong?" answer "what's wrong today?" or "what's the strongest emotion you felt last week" or etc. And then expand around it. Describe the experience. Etc.
  • quercusa 6y ago
    RDD works because talking is really powerful. Ever had to teach a class on something you thought you knew? The act of turning an amorphous blob of 'knowledge' into a linear presentation will often show you that you didn't understand things as well as you thought. The therapist's "Tell me more" forces you to tease out of the blob the distinct threads of the issue. Journaling can also be useful in forcing you to produce words that describe what's going on, but it's also easier to slack off when there's nobody else in the room. If you worry about what you'll say in a therapy session, start writing and you'll likely come up with plenty to talk about.
    • heavenlyblue 6y ago
      RDD works because most of the people really don’t understand what they don’t understand without a direct linear thinking about the problem. They have this blob in their head that creates an illusion of knowledge. I have the same thing. Every time I start thinking “big” I need to consciously stop myself and ask “what do you not know?”/“what needs to be measured?” Instead of continuing making assumptions. You don’t need to speak to a duck to do that though. Speech has got nothing to do with your ego/laziness that makes you believe there’s nothing to be done and everything can be solved by thinking.
  • logicalmind 6y ago
    There is probably a name for it, but I do the equivalent, except by writing an email (or just writing it down any way). I noticed that if I am saying things out loud I can just skip over what are often unnecessary details. But by writing it down in some way, I am forced to think it all through. Nine times out of ten, I solve the problem before I finish the email or ever send it.
• maximum_stress 6y ago
  I came to therapy very late in life and it was similarly opaque to me. I was very fortunate to come across someone who listened to me talk about my life and distilled it into insights I had never made on my own. I can only assume they've seen so much and treated so many patients they have a deep well of patterns to start with and it's mostly of matter of seeing where you fit plus whatever is unique to you. I've always had a good relationship with my mother but it was only though my therapist I even realized I did in fact have some attachment issues. Anecdotally when I mentioned that to my aunts they immediately starting sharing stories about mom. Family knew all along but they remained silent until I asked for detail. The point is for both the therapist and family just talking is enough to prime the process of discovery. You won't start with a giant epiphany.