At the risk of sounding negative, I've found that this is probably a waste of time, because most therapists are utter garbage...
And, it's really no surprise, really, if you look at the average salary for therapists. I imagine that most of the ones who could actually help you are running high-priced practices treating Arab princes and basketball players...naturally they are not going to be found in the provider directory for your insurance...if you even have insurance... (US perspective here)
At the risk of sounding positive, I've found therapy to not be a waste of time, despite therapists being generally mediocre.
As long as they're not an asshole, having someone listen to you and prompt you with questions is incredibly therapeutic. It also helps immensely that you can be confident about your privacy. Just getting it out sometimes is what you need. None of the therapists I dealt with when going through anxiety/depression issues really grokked what was going on in my head (my impression, but perhaps, like a parent, they really did know all along). However, a few 45 minute sessions of speaking and prompting got things off my chest, and my mind redirected on far more positive things than "I'm not good enough", "I'm going to die alone", "No one would miss me if I didn't wake up tomorrow" and other delightful thoughts.
I don't have data on "most" therapists, and neither do you, but some therapists can immeasurably change your life for the better.
As for the cost, would you rather work on your inner life (which might bring professional success) or buy that new BMW? Only you can make that decision.
Ah, the old negativity-masquerading-as-insight trick. HN really needs to do something about its implicit approval of such foolery tarted up as meaningful commentary.
Or don't. I feel for the poster, but I think that depression is given too much emphasis as a category. Psychologists have a justifiable low bar in defining such categories - for them a category's existence is justified by its usefulness. But outside the field of psychology, we should acknowledge that people do not neatly cluster into "depressed" and "not depressed".
If medicalizing (and I don't mean that term in a pejorative way) your problems works for you, then do that. Other people find other solutions to their problems, like self-help, or just prefer to live with them.
githulhu|12 years ago
And, it's really no surprise, really, if you look at the average salary for therapists. I imagine that most of the ones who could actually help you are running high-priced practices treating Arab princes and basketball players...naturally they are not going to be found in the provider directory for your insurance...if you even have insurance... (US perspective here)
Jtsummers|12 years ago
As long as they're not an asshole, having someone listen to you and prompt you with questions is incredibly therapeutic. It also helps immensely that you can be confident about your privacy. Just getting it out sometimes is what you need. None of the therapists I dealt with when going through anxiety/depression issues really grokked what was going on in my head (my impression, but perhaps, like a parent, they really did know all along). However, a few 45 minute sessions of speaking and prompting got things off my chest, and my mind redirected on far more positive things than "I'm not good enough", "I'm going to die alone", "No one would miss me if I didn't wake up tomorrow" and other delightful thoughts.
auctiontheory|12 years ago
I don't have data on "most" therapists, and neither do you, but some therapists can immeasurably change your life for the better.
As for the cost, would you rather work on your inner life (which might bring professional success) or buy that new BMW? Only you can make that decision.
was_hellbanned|12 years ago
gcr|12 years ago
The rest is avoiding further damage -- there are right ways to listen and wrong ways to listen, after all.
That's the difference between an experienced therapist and a bad therapist, or between a trained therapist and an ordinary friend/colleague.
yetanotherphd|12 years ago
If medicalizing (and I don't mean that term in a pejorative way) your problems works for you, then do that. Other people find other solutions to their problems, like self-help, or just prefer to live with them.
unknown|12 years ago
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