Quote:
Originally Posted by annielovesbacon
I think I may have misrepresented my therapist! She is an excellent therapist, and in no way with her saying that did she imply that suicide would make the pain go away. Her point was that she didn't want my goal to be "I want to not be sad anymore," because one day I could realize that if I killed myself, I would technically wouldn't be sad anymore. She wants me to have goals that can be realized by getting better, alive!
She does try to help me make my goals, but I think she is hesitant to overstep her bounds or try to tell me what she thinks my goals should be. I struggle to come up with something concrete, and she gives me space to think or a few suggestions. She listens to me. I understand what she means by a therapy goal, I just struggle to come up with one.
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Sometimes it can be a struggle. Just keep trying to figure it out - sometimes it takes more time and that's okay. You could also try imagining yourself ready to be done with therapy - what would your life look like then? When you're feeling better? That could also give you some hints.
I see what you mean. Even so, in my experience a therapist can simply explain that goals need to be positive (what you want and not what you don't want, just as they need to be measurable, achievable, ethical, etc). I still remember and to this day keep using a nice metaphor I heard from a TA in college - it's like getting on a taxi. You don't tell the driver where you don't want him to go or he'll have no clue where to take you; you need to tell him the place you want to get. I'm not trying to criticize your therapist, I'm just very surprised.