What Is Your True Opinion On Therapy?

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 8:25pm

Do you think it can truly help someone who is in need or do you think it's completely empty and holds no hope?

I, myself, believe that therapy CAN be effective...but not as a cure. It's always better to deal directly with the problem and therapy is certainly a valid avenue for that. However, I do not believe that it can truly cure as that is something that must happen from within.

But then again, I hold no licensed degree in psychology or psychiatry and I don't know what I'm talking about.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 8:32pm

I do think it's helpful and worthwhile, but I also think it alone doesn't always help, and that the person has got to be willing to accept help. If you go into it thinking you're f*cked and this isn't going to do anything for you, then no, it's not. You've got to be open to change. Therapy can help people through a lot of different sorts of things, but of course it can't cure everything that goes on inside someone's head -- especially since a lot of problems for which people go to therapy are the result of chemical imbalance, etc. So, obviously, in a lot of cases, seeing a therapist has to be combined with medical intervention as well.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 8:39pm

I think one of the scariest things about therapy is how everyone is afraid to criticize it. They all hold it up to be a giant shining beacon of shimmering help that is ALWAYS there for you. It just does not work that way...

[tazber]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 8:58pm

I don't think that's true Cruel. luv is 100% right in that you have to be ready to accept whatever help it may provide. If you're not truly ready, then it's useless.
People criticize therapy all the time. And if someone isn't ready for it, then it's a waste of time.
BUT, if you are willing to put any pre-conceived notions aside and allow yourself to be acknowledge that some type of behavior modification could be beneficial then it can be quite productive.

[misschung]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:10pm

I actually think it's the opposite - I hear people criticize therapy all the time.

Updated On: 6/11/07 at 09:10 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:12pm

I think you have to be willing to understand its limitations; don't expect it to be a cure-all, but rather a way to jump-start the process. These things take time.

[misschung]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:15pm

Absolutely. What's scary is how many people reach for medication without giving therapy a chance. But therapy is a relationship that needs to be built like any other. The dynamic can't exist if the patient is shut off and convinced that therapy is a waste of time.

I, myself, believe that therapy CAN be effective...but not as a cure.

Cure is also really a subjective term. Most of the time, therapy can help a patient control certain problems so that they dont hinder their functioning in their daily life.

Updated On: 6/11/07 at 09:15 PM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:16pm

You have to be smart enough for therapy to be able to help you. And, yes, cruel, that's a direct challenge to you.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/11/07 at 9:19pm

You also have to realize there are many different kinds of therapy.
Some people just need someone to talk to, some need real help.
There are many many variations, and no two people's needs are the same.

[DBillyP]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 12:18pm

I thought this thread was about the bar, which I love.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 12:19pm

Cruel,

You need it.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 12:34pm

Therapy is a wonderful tool for YOU to help YOURSELF...the therapist is a practioner, not a magician...you work together toward whatever your goals are, self esteem, self acceptance, relationships with others, etc.

The word cure bothers me in this conversation...the human psyche is far too complex to be cured...and of what? Unhappiness? Self doubt? Noone is free of these things...like death, they are part of life. It's how you deal with them that can change.

Therapy is a wonderful thing to do for yourself, and everyone can benefit from it.

It can be tough to find a good therapist that you can work with...but worth the search.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 12:39pm

Not all therapists are created equal, either. Just like medical doctors, some are better than others.

[blueroses]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 1:02pm

Oh Cruel, you've still got The Sopranos on the brain.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 4:29pm

Having been in (and out) of therapy a long time, I can say that it is hard WORK.

So many people treat 'being in therapy' as a license to act crazy the other 167 hours of the week in a convoluted logic of 'well, I'm in therapy so its all right to be neurotic and self-destructive'.

I treated therapy as the one hour a week I could confront my self-destructiveness and take what I learned and worked on that session out into the rest of my life. I learned to be sane.

The 'cure' or 'resolution' of therapy comes when you can take what you learned in therapy and apply it to your life without the aid of someone else. It requires a whole different way of looking at life, at your life and your relationships with others.

Is my life now all hunky dory? Of course not. But it is in a much better place than it was when I went into therapy.

Some friends of mine (mostly Virgos which I find odd) blanketly rule out therapy for themselves, yet there have been times when I have acted as their therapist without them realizing a session was in progress. I got them to admit to themselves what is really going on underneath instead of the insufferable acting out or holding-it-in.

I am not talking nutcases here. I know schizophrenics and that is no picnic at all. I am writing of those little tics and neuroses that actors and artists seem to share.

Do I recommend therapy? Yes, utterly and absolutely, but really only if you are willing to make some changes. I also recommend psychopharmacology if needed, but that's another story.

The Scientologists would hate me. That's not a bad thing.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 4:34pm

I spent my share of thearapy time, and it's great for what it is: a tool to help you deal with issues about yourself. It gave me the tools to deal with issues I had no idea how to deal with, and were affecting me. At one point, though, I figured it was time for me to not use it as a crutch and learn to use those tools, so I stopped going and continue forging on.

My life has been much improved by it.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 4:38pm

"Some friends of mine (mostly Virgos which I find odd) blanketly rule out therapy for themselves, yet there have been times when I have acted as their therapist without them realizing a session was in progress."

Interesting-I'm a virgo and I also wouldn't enter into therapy, but the reverse is true about giving therapy-I'm usually the one who's helping others with advice!

[Elphaba]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 7:59pm

cruel, are you looking for a reason not to pursue it?

everyone can use therapy at one time or another in their lives...and for you, the sooner the better, and I do not mean that in any vindictive way.

You only get out of therapy what you put into it.......and if you are already denegrating it, it won't help you.

[broadwaytourist]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 8:45pm

Therapy helped me get through a very tough time. I started to explain that tough time, but that's not the point. The point is I had someone I could talk do who did not as we say in the South, "have a dog in that hunt." My therapist was open minded, direct, and most of all objective concerning the problems I was facing. That's what we all need sometime - an objective ear, and sometimes it's the best money we could spend.

[shira467]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 9:06pm

I've been in and out of therapy for years, and I continue with one person I've been seeing for two years because my family is rather rough to deal with on my own.

I find it very helpful, and while it can be a crutch sometimes, which isn't good, overall, I can certainly say that therapy (the RIGHT therapist, also) can make a difference in one's life.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 6/12/07 at 11:00pm

"You have to be smart enough for therapy to be able to help you. And, yes, cruel, that's a direct challenge to you."

it doesn't help if you're smarter than your therapist.
i had a real dumbass.
but i guess you can't expect much at the state run clinic.
finding a good therapist who takes crappy insurence is easier said than done.

[losingmyreligion]

Posted: 6/13/07 at 9:45am

It really depends on the person. I have a friend who's been seeing the same therapist for over five years, and it's really helped her. However, I know many other people who just can't open up to a random stranger, or simply don't like to talk about their personal issues.

As for me, I've been in and out of therapy since I was nine (I'm 18 now), but it's mostly because of the different medication I take. So like, I pretty much only see psychiatrists, as opposed to just therapists. I find that just by talking through your problems out loud, you kind of come to your own conclusions about them. Sometimes you find you don't always need a solution to the problem.