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Originally Posted by childofyen
Is it a red flag that my T isn't helping me develop these skills? I've been honest with her about my depression and my difficulty coping with it, I've mentioned that I feel like I'm running out of coping skills, and she knows about my history with alcohol and other self defeating coping tactics. I feel like nothing I know to try is working and she seems to be under the impression that nothing I do try will work until I'm on meds. Is this typical of a T who has a patient with a chemical imbalance, or is this laziness on her part, or does she think I'm too stubborn to help myself?
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I don't know that it's necessarily a red flag. It may just require very clear communication that you need solid coping skills. But if she has tried to do some skills and you feel they are not providing any relief medication referral may be appropriate. If the depression is so deep we cannot utilize the skills, that poses a problem, which may be why she feels meds would help you get to that point.
I don't know your T or if she is 'lazy'. It *sounds like* she has some pretty firm beliefs that medication has to be in place first. But again, I'd ask what do we do in the mean time to manage the intense feelings for now?
I don't think a good T would jump to someone just being too stubborn to help themselves. But one of the 'rules' in DBT is that a client has to accept and utilize help offered and that they can't just write it off saying "that doesn't help". You have to go through the motions of trying the skills first. Usually if T can build a really good collection of coping skills, by the time you use them the feelings defuse themselves atleast for a while.