ohwilleke

I reach the same conclusion. Therapists are trained to sense loaded topics and believe in getting out what is going on with them, even if it has nothing to do with the problem. With the "mystery" solved, the therapist may be happy to move on.

ohwilleke

I have seen studies in which Jake's proposition (that talking to a friend or professor or some such is just as beneficial as a therapist) has been shown to be accurate. Perhaps there are other studies that show the opposite, but I haven't seen them. (Sorry, no references, just memory).

SimplyAtheistic

I am sorry, but they spend years in school learning about severe disorders of the brain, and not studying the more common family issues. The fact is, they use common sense just like any rational person should, and they charge outrageous amounts of money for this common sense.
Jake

Loki

I am signed on a 12 month lease, so I've got almost 10 months of rent left to pay. I can't afford to pay on two places at the same time, because one never gets full price for a subletter.

My insurance pays 90%; I personally am not spending that much on the therapy.

I tentatively figured it was along the lines of what Lady Shea said, that since it was sort of a funny answer I gave, that perhaps she thought there was something there. I'm going back and will give it one more shot, and also be more prepared in case she mentions it again.

You think I haven't tried hashing it out with friends? No, I have a few wonderful close friends who are there for me, but good advice only goes so far, especially with problems that have a chemical aspect.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with a therapist, but not all of them are like that, and a good number actually do help people.

To everyone else, thanks for the input and support.

girlwriter

Jake, this simply is not true. In addition to learning about both severe and minor brain disorders, they *do* study common family, personal and interpersonal issues in depth, as well as several different approaches to dealing with them, among other things. They go through years of therapy themselves, conduct research, etc. It is a good ten years of very hard work. You may claim to know otherwise, but you are wrong. It is not *common* sense that they study for the most part. Further, people are not always capable of rational behavior. An objective person who has expert knowledge of human psychology can be a huge asset in learning to behave rationally. And learning to feel happy.

If your therapist wasn't capable of anything beyond common sense, then you made an unfortunate choice in thereapists. You do a disservice to people who are trying to improve thier lives through therapy as well as to therapists who have spent thier lives learning to help them when you disparage the profession this way.

HelenM

That makes sense. I'm glad you've decided what to do. Let us know how it goes.

Helen

SimplyAtheistic

I understand they study family issues, but the fact remains that common sense could easily solve most problems. It is true that if some people are acting irrational, then a therapist might impose an authoritve effect upon them and actually help, but if the subject is a rational person, normal advice would suffice. For most families that are fighting or what not, a therapist is overkill. They say things like "You must listen to your son for progress to be made, you must try being kinder, more reasonable, etc..." Excuse me, but my 10 year old sister could tell you that. People get into a therapist center and all of a sudden they decide to listen because a therapist said so. This does NOT change the fact that the therapist is simply giving advice that most people already know. I gurantee you if you went to 100 therapists and showed the same problem, they would give a VERY similar answer that boils down to very simple suggestions. Therapists can be a big help with people who have severe mental problems, but I will say it again, MOST people simply do not need a therapist. Please explain some of the revelations therapists have revealed in simple family issues, and maybe I will change my mind.
Jake

Viti

Jake, everyone is different. Some people are more comfortable speaking to an objective third party that is not involved in their day to day life. With a therapist you can say anything without worrying if you're hurting their feelings, or if they are going to tell other people, or if they are going to judge you. They can provide concrete steps and coping strategies that maybe one person never learned because their family doesn't have any common sense, or didn't take the time.

You are being very judgemental of others' choices based on your subjective opinion and not being supportive. Please take the "Therapy is uselss" discussion to the appropriate forum. Maybe the Secular Lounge or even Science and Skepticism if you think your opinion and assertions can be validated with data. Any further discussion of the merits of therapy as a whole, unrelated to the specifics of the opening post, will be deleted or moved.

LadyShea
SL&S Moderator

MasterJackass

I�ll try to get this thread back on track after that great derailment. Loki, a first session with a therapist consists of �getting to know you�. She was probably just trying to figure out who you are and why you need her help. Most private practice therapists, even if they do hold a religious belief, won�t push them on you or even mention them. If you are concerned about this then go ahead and ask her, but don�t be too worried about it. Most of the �religious therapists� work with a church. So, unless you are specifically looking for a therapist to include religion into your therapy, it probably won�t happen.

Loki

Thanks Master (masterJackass sounds too, er pardon the bad pun, smartass), I'd gone to the University councelling office, but that was for a very specific issue, and we spoke on that almost exclusively. This time, I just want to see if there's some reason I cry/feel like crying every day, at least 2 or 3 times a day. And some other stuff, but it's long and complicated, and frankly, I don't really want to discuss it on an internet board, especially if the very validity of therapy's at question.