My first experience with a therapist was when I was a kid in school, involuntarily on my part. I suppose in that case it did actually help in an unintended way. I didn't get actual help for my problems, but I did realize adults were as useless as anyone and I couldn't trust anyone to care to listen or help me.
As an adult I saw a few different therapists, at least a couple more than I mentioned in my earlier post. One guy actually seemed like a good guy and really seemed to listen. He wasn't able to help me but I got the sense that he at least wished he could. I wasn't able to see him more than I did because it was a through-work thing where they only paid for a certain amount of sessions and once those were done, I couldn't see him anymore.
The psychiatrist that was prescribing medications... every session was the same, he'd ask me how I felt I would say I felt the same and he would say to take more medicine. I figured he was just going to keep upping the dose until he decided to switch to something else. I was open to the medicine actually hoping maybe I did have a chemical imbalance that could be treated... but more and more over the years I have concluded that I never had a chemical imbalance problem. I'm just reacting to very real stimuli and even if I had coping mechanisms it would be like taking aspirin because someone randomly hits me in the head with a hammer in my sleep a couple of times a week and nobody will help me stop him and nobody believes it is even happening.
So while I believe in the concept of therapy, I am not convinced there is anyone out there who would care enough and be qualified to actually be of value to me at this point.
Why would you *ever* recommend a book that you haven't read yourself, especiallyto a patient? This is a lazy therapist who has no business treating anyone.
That's what I said! It seemed so irresponsible to me. I mean, she ended up recommending something to me the exact opposite of what I needed and if I hadn't been as emotionally stable as I was at the time, that could have set me off. Fortunately I have just enough stubbornness that someone's ineptitude isn't going to be what pushes me over the edge.
Unrelated, but similarly negligent in my opinion... I had to go to a psychiatrist for an evaluation. It was a one-off not a treatment scenario. Anyway, because it was for a work-related evaluation I knew to be on time so I arrived early. I realize a session could run long so I wouldn't have minded waiting if the doctor was with a patient that needed help more than I did for that evaluation session... but I waited at least a half hour after my session because just before my appointment time a guy in a suit came into the office and talked to the doctor all that time. I heard him talking with the receptionist after and he was a pharmaceutical rep who was there to sell the doctor on his drug inventory.
Of course I couldn't say anything and risk screwing up my evaluation, but it kind of pissed me off that a doctor would keep anyone with an appointment waiting while seeing what kickbacks could be had for prescribing whatever drug of the month was the new thing.
