[sarahxxkristine]

I am a psych major...i see a therapist....so why am i soo ashamed of seeing a T? I know about the stigma of psychology issues, and i shouldnt be a victim of ignorance, but i feel i am....I think my therapist is pretty cool and i like seeing her....But i feell like those who know i am seeing her, are judging me and thinking im nuts. thinking theres something so severly wrong with me because i need to see a therapist....ther's alot of shame that comes along with seeing her....and although i like seeing her...the shame comes along with it makes me wanna quit....I dont wanna be defined by my emotional issues....because i swear i am more than that....

[jexa]

Gah I feel you.. I have a BA in Psych, will likely be a therapist, and I am very ashamed of my mental health problems.

I guess I just tell myself, the shame isn't coming from them, it's coming from inside of me -- these people aren't shaming me, I'm shaming myself. If I act like it's no big deal that I'm in therapy, like it's totally normal, then people just accept it like it's totally normal, for the most part.

Not easy.

[Rapunzel]

Unfortunately, there is a real stigma. I believe that often the difference between people who go to therapy and people who don't is that those who go are more open to taking an honest look at themselves and making positive changes, while people who don't go to therapy may have just as serious problems and they are in denial. They are also the ones who look down upon us for admitting that we need help and getting help. Maybe because we are doing something they are afraid to do themselves, and they are intimidated. We are a threat to their status quo.

It is appropriate for psych majors, especially those interested in becoming therapists, to have a personal experience with therapy. Even more so if unresolved issues are discovered. I am a therapist, and have been in therapy for 5 years now, including the entire time that I was in graduate school. I shared that fact with people I trusted, and usually it went over ok - especially with other students and instructors who have also used therapy to work on their own problems. There are others who just don't need to know, and may not be supportive.

Ultimately, our own shame probably gets in our way more than anything else. DBT teaches that if you feel shame, and you are not doing anything wrong, the way to overcome it is to keep doing what you are doing.

[ECHOES]

Did you know that psychoanalysts are required to engage in therapy? To be the best T they can be means engaging in therapy to resolve their own issues as best they can, so that those issues don't interfere with the patient's therapy.

Not only are you gaining personal insight, but you are experiencing some of what your patients will experience and this will add to what you bring to your patient's therapy.

There is also a lot to learn about you, about feeling shame because of what others think or may possibly think...

Stigmas and prejudices are made in ignorance and fear.

[deliquesce]

i relate to what you've posted, in a way. i'm doing my psych degree and i hate for other students to know that i see a therapist, have depression etc. for me, it is limited to other psych students (and sometimes lecturers) because i feel like they would judge my potential to become a decent therapist.

away from that, though, i am pretty open about my depression and therapy and meds. it is important for my friends to know, because it means they cut me slack when i become unreliable and hide away for extended periods. most people are pretty cool about it, and i think that's partly because i'm pretty open about it that it would almost be rude for them to make it into a big deal.

[pegasus]

Well, yes I do understand where that shame is coming from but the very best way to be good as a therapist is to experience it. How will you help your clients unless you have actually done it too. Look at it as a great learning experience, much better than getting it out of a text book.

[moonrise]

I've been on both ends of the couch, so to speak. There is nothing wrong with that. Having unresolved issues while you're trying to help someone with their problems - that's not so good.

[sarahxxkristine]

Thxxx guys...i mean i got kicked off my tennis team a few weeks ago because i was attached to my tennis coach so strongly that she couldnt take it anymore..., it was like we had never met when she said bye...so all these issues that she had known about, because i trusted her and told her, my parents found out in this meeting...now every statement they say to me is "we need to get ur head straight" or "gotta do what we can to fix your issues" which just makes me defiant to ever go to my T, because its not on my own free will anymore...i liked going with the idea i could stop when i wanted to....now i am obligated by my parents because they think im mentally ill (they know NOTHING bout psychology)