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Originally Posted by Skies
Quote:
Originally Posted by lolagrace View Post
That's always been my experience too. Lots of support from family, church, friends, etc. I can't remember therapy ever being suggested except in one instance when it was clear I needed more than all of the above was able to provide. Honestly wish therapy had been suggested sooner. I just don't hear therapy being suggested anywhere in my real life as a first line of defense and certainly not as something for day-to-day issues that can be managed in other ways.
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Same here.
I feel really short changed by the MH industry recommending medications year after year instead of therapy. The underlying cause of my depression was attachment trauma and related PTSD, and delaying therapy impacted my prognosis. I also think this therapy can be more effective when one is younger, when we are most malleable.
Results of the ACE study (2013) show us that attachment trauma may be much more widespread than previously thought.
I wonder how long it will take the MH industry to catch up? At the minimum, those with unrelenting, refractory depression or relational issues, such as those who repeatedly find themselves in abusive relationships, should be screened for attachment trauma.
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On the other hand, if one doesn't have support from family, friends, community, etc., then all the therapy in the world can't make up for that. And if attachment trauma is not effectively treated or otherwise corrected before a person becomes an adult, then as was suggested earlier, it can morph into a personality disorder. And, as we know, people with personality disorders can find it hard to do their part in maintaining relationships with family, friends, and community.
In addition, if the current therapy for attachment trauma is iffy and can sometimes lead to the client being more distressed and dysfuntional than they were before they entered treatment, as has been reported (though frequently dismissed) here on PC, then I would suggest that there is more than just screening that the MH industry needs to catch up on.
I first entered therapy back in the day when psychodynamic was the only model for therapy and attachment theory and antidepressant drugs were both unknown. I've rarely been prescribed or taken drugs. I've stayed mostly on the psychodynamic path when I felt I needed help -- it still seems to me that that offers the best chance for "healing". It's just so chancy and, by definition (the concept of the unconscious is key in psychodynamic therapy), you don't know what you're getting into until you get into it.