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Old Mar 16, 2012, 05:52 AM
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PreacherHeckler PreacherHeckler is offline
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Member Since: Oct 2010
Location: Close to the Adirondacks but not close enough
Posts: 578
I don't like that particular food metaphor because I don't think therapy or the therapist is supposed to make us feel good or fill us up anyway. It's supposed to help us understand why we think, feel, and behave in certain ways, and help us change those patterns so we can feel better about ourselves and our relationships in real life. I think, if you want to use a food metaphor, a good therapist will provide small amounts of healthy food, the stuff we don't necessarily want or like at first because we're only used to junk food. The therapist will also encourage us to try new kinds of healthy foods from different "restaurants" in the community and eventually the healthy food will satisfy us and fill us up, replacing the junk food. But being "filled up" by a therapist who gives us what we want to eat and not what's healthy for us, or who gives us as much as we want even if it is a healthier food than we're accustomed to, doesn't help us -- it just teaches us to depend on the therapist to satisfy our hunger while we're in therapy, and the rest of the time we're slowly depleting those calories and nutrients waiting to be filled up again at the next session, instead of finding new ways to sustain ourselves between sessions.
__________________
Conversation with my therapist:

Doc: "You know, for the past few weeks you've seemed very disconnected from your emotions when you're here."
Me: "I'm not disconnected from my emotions. I just don't feel anything when I'm here."
(Pause)
Me: "Doc, why are you banging your head against the arm of your chair?"
Doc: "Because I'm not close enough to a wall."

It's official. I can even make therapists crazy.
Thanks for this!
elliemay, sconnie892