
Feb 29, 2016, 10:39 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lolagrace
I have a dear friend at church who also struggles with mental health issues; in fact, we have the same diagnosis. We were talking today between services, touching base, and we got on the topic of our pdocs and therapists.
We are both pretty fortunate. We have very supportive families, we feel very supported by our faith community, we have good friends. And while she and I can talk to each other in ways and about things we wouldn't with most people, we both were sharing our gratitude for having the pdocs and therapists that we do. We got to talking about what they have been able to provide for us that the other people in our life generally just can't do.
For her, she said what her therapist can provide that others in her life cannot is a clear, objective reality check. She has lots of problems with mania and occasionally psychosis, so even though family members may try to let her know when she's accelerating into mania, she realizes she doesn't always willingly hear it from them, but when it comes from her therapist or pdoc, she is more able to really hear them and more likely to take proactive action to head things off before they get too far out of hand. They serve to help her stay regulated and monitored.
For me, I guess what mine provide that others cannot is witness to the details and pain of my history. While my husband knows in general terms what I went through, only my therapist and pdoc really know the very specific details. Their ability to hear me and accept me and validate for me that what happened was what it was and that my responses and issues that have resulted are valid and normal under the circumstances was always a relief. They bore respectful witness to my history and helped me put that history in its rightful place. No one else could have really done that for me.
I think we all have very individual reasons for seeking therapy, but it was interesting to have this conversation with someone who, even as open as we are with each other, understood how a therapist can often provide something others simply cannot. What is it, ultimately, that your therapist is able to provide that no one else can, even those people you are closest and most open with?
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That's true for me to, my t can say things to me that I won't 'hear' from say, my h. If that makes sense.
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