[sandysue44]

I have gone to therapy since I was 12 years old. My mother was a therapy junkie and spent my dad's money on it. I have never felt like I was helped by it in any way. I was sent to finishing school by a therapist when I was 13. I was never helped when I told my therapist at age 12 that I was being severely bullied. Never once was I encouraged to do well in school or get a college education or a career. I was only taught to be pretty and be a good little Southern Belle. The best help I got was in a Bi Polar support group. I have had a therapist tell me I almost needed to be hospitalized then fall asleep the next session with me there in the room. It is more helpful to me to talk with a good friend or go to a support group of my peers. I don't think therapists really understand or can help a mentally ill person.

It doesn't work for many, many people. It's kind of something that isn't discussed though.

[sandysue44]

Oh yea, I almost forgot to add to my other post- When I was about 25 years old I had a community mental health therapist say to me (I swear this is true) "I am surprised you haven't committed suicide by now." I am now 60 and alot worse things have happened in my life and I am still alive. It made me question if it was the will of God or the Universe to have taken my life. I sometimes wonder if he was giving me instructions.

[RTerroni]

I don't think it worked much for me during school (elementary, junior, or senior high) and I kept going in and out of it, but about 5 years ago I decided to go back to Therapy on my own and have enjoyed it ever since (in particular with a Therapist who I saw for 4 years straight).

[blur]

i think some Ts work for some clients some of the time. it didn't work for me, but i have learned a ton from reading about psychology and from this board. therapy is only one tool in the toolbox. i think there are many other ways to find help.

[Favorite Jeans]

Sounds like there's two separate questions here:

1) did your therapy experiences involve competent, ethical therapists?

2) can therapy be helpful?

I think an unskilled or unethical therapist can do tremendous damage. An unskilled civil engineer can build a structurally unsound bridge that collapses and kills lots of people. But you wouldn't conclude from that the problem is civil engineering, right?

Therapy can be very helpful if you have a good therapist who is a good match for you and you're not being sent there to solve someone else's problem (like your parents) but rather go of your own accord for your own reasons.

[Hellion]

Based on a lot of threads here, it doesn't work and might in fact make things worse. Apparently a lot of therapists really don't stick to their professional boundaries or follow regulations as to what is appropriate and what isn't. So yeah maybe it is just a big scam, I dont really know.

[lrt1978]

Well therapy has worked for me so far. I think you have to want to get better and be prepared to face things that you don't want to.

The first psychologist I saw for CBT really helped me change my eating disorder behaviours and got me physically healthy and sorted out some of my unhelpful thinking styles.

The psychologist I am seeing at the moment, is going well, we are tackling the underlying issues that would have contributed to the eating disorder.

I also find going into it with an open mind and yes therapy doesn't help everyone x

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Victoria'smom]

Each one of my therapists did not help until my current one. It seems to be small changes that you wouldn't realize otherwise. Identifying mood, not getting as angry, learning the appropriate way to say sorry.

One of the first time I noticed is when a very important person in my life died. I didn't take it out on myself like I normally would but made an art piece to honor him. A lot of the therapist have their own mental health issues.

[Leah123]

I have been in some therapy that did work and some that didn't. The difference for me was having a therapist with the experience level, approach, and personality to suit my needs and my own personality. I find the work sometimes feels incredibly difficult, painful, exhilarating, challenging, joyful, exciting, pleasurable, a whole gamut of feelings, but that it can definitely work.

[rainboots87]

I think it helps. It's taken many therapists (a bunch of miscellaneous Ts, two long term individual Ts, one long term group T, and two dietitians) and a lot of hard work and effort, but I no longer have an eating disorder and am much better equipped to handle anxiety and depressive symptoms. I'm a stronger, more assertive communicator and have gained so much more. Sometimes, I've felt hopeless, but I truly believe that no matter how much something sucks and feels like it'll never end or get better, that it's only temporary. It won't always be so hard. And that gives me hope.

[feralkittymom]

I wouldn't draw any conclusions about therapy's success rate from posts on this forum. It's a bit like a bad restaurant meal: you tell everyone, but the good meals go unremarked upon.

[CrimsonBlues]

Originally Posted by Hellion

Based on a lot of threads here, it doesn't work and might in fact make things worse. Apparently a lot of therapists really don't stick to their professional boundaries or follow regulations as to what is appropriate and what isn't. So yeah maybe it is just a big scam, I dont really know.

This is my take as well-based on what I have read and the research I've done-as well as my own experiences.

This is such a painful and complex subject. I hesitate to respond to some threads because I have to try to determine when I might be offering something that could possibly be helpful or whether my responses are too influenced by my own therapy nightmares.

It's true that the negative therapy stories often get more attention and seem more frequent than the positive and uplifting stories but I would add that what transpires in therapy can be critical to one's life and their well-being. What happens in therapy or experiences with the mental health profession has the potential to make a tremendous impact-which could be a good impact but if things go wrong it can have a truly devastating and long lasting result. It seems to me that it would make sense that if things go wrong in such an important scenario that the resulting complaints would be understandably vocalized.

I know that there are people who say they have been helped in therapy by wonderful therapists and that is great. I think there are people who are wonderful therapists. But other people have not been helped and some other people have not been helped and further have been wounded by the therapist's actions. That is also true.

[feralkittymom]

Crimson, what you're saying makes perfect sense from the perspective of an individual case. I agree there's no question some have been harmed by therapy.

But Hellion says she's drawing a conclusion about therapy experiences in general based upon PC threads, and I would caution that this is not a representative population. Independent surveys, compilations of complaints, etc, puts the incidence of therapy experiences that are sufficiently problematic to take action at 5-10%. Even if we double that stat to have a margin to include those who were very unhappy about their experience, but didn't take any action about it, that leaves 80% not unsatisfied. This board is not a random sampling, so caution about general conclusions from reading threads is I think reasonable.

[CrimsonBlues]

Originally Posted by feralkittymom

Crimson, what you're saying makes perfect sense from the perspective of an individual case. I agree there's no question some have been harmed by therapy.

But Hellion says she's drawing a conclusion about therapy experiences in general based upon PC threads, and I would caution that this is not a representative population. Independent surveys, compilations of complaints, etc, puts the incidence of therapy experiences that are sufficiently problematic to take action at 5-10%. Even if we double that stat to have a margin to include those who were very unhappy about their experience, but didn't take any action about it, that leaves 80% not unsatisfied. This board is not a random sampling, so caution about general conclusions from reading threads is I think reasonable.

I agree with you. My opinions come from different sources and many years of researching this subject but I didn't really go into that beyond a few words-I apologize for being so vague. You are right-we should always be cautious to come to any conclusion from any one source whether it's this forum or something else. As I wrote, I am always worried that my own damaging experiences might be clouding what I say. I regret it if that's what happened here with what I wrote on this thread.

[CantExplain]

You regret the past 35 years?

[RTerroni]

He could be, I am very religious and I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason.

[Leah123]

Looks like this is a duplicate thread to this one: http://forums.psychcentral.com/psych...does-work.html

I stand by my answer there, and would say therapy definitely helps, if one has goals, the right therapist and a willingness to be completely honest and work hard. It's painful and rewarding in my experience. I hope you find some relief.

[doyoutrustme]

I say therapy doesn't work, YOU work. The therapist is there as a guide to nudge you in a healthy direction. People expect magic but aren't willing to work on themselves.

tapatalk post.

Therapy is hard work - and WE have to do the work - there is no magic wand that T can wave. Not that I haven't tried, mind you - I tell her that every now and then "T, why can't you just wave your magic wand and fix me?" I think I still say that sometimes just because I love her answer which is always "You know it doesn't work like that. And besides, you're not broken."

My old therapist said that to me many, many times. Many times.

I should clarify I don't love the part of the answer that "it doesn't work like that." LOL the part I love is the "You are not broken."

[stopdog]

It seems it can work for some people for some things. I think it is also possible for it not to help no matter how hard the client works. The failure of therapy to work is not always (and in my opinion not even usually) due to the client not working.
The therapist doesn't do anything really that I have seen. They sit and act like the human for the appointment time. I think it is sometimes simply time that helps or the belief in whatever part of therapy the client chooses as their Dumbo feather.
I also think it depends upon what one is looking for in terms of deciding whether it works or not.

[AllyIsHopeful]

Originally Posted by feralkittymom

I wouldn't draw any conclusions about therapy's success rate from posts on this forum. It's a bit like a bad restaurant meal: you tell everyone, but the good meals go unremarked upon.

Great comparison! I was thinking about that yesterday when leaving a review for something online. People are more likely to make a fuss about things when they're peeved from a bad experience or received below average service.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hellion]

Originally Posted by feralkittymom

Crimson, what you're saying makes perfect sense from the perspective of an individual case. I agree there's no question some have been harmed by therapy.

But Hellion says she's drawing a conclusion about therapy experiences in general based upon PC threads, and I would caution that this is not a representative population. Independent surveys, compilations of complaints, etc, puts the incidence of therapy experiences that are sufficiently problematic to take action at 5-10%. Even if we double that stat to have a margin to include those who were very unhappy about their experience, but didn't take any action about it, that leaves 80% not unsatisfied. This board is not a random sampling, so caution about general conclusions from reading threads is I think reasonable.

Also I have been in therapy for years and it hasn't helped, hence why I feel it may very well not help. And I don't think all therapists cross boundaries and what not, I don't recall having that problem....but yes based on some stuff here it would seem it is an issue so it makes me feel like i need to be careful about unethical therapists.

I am not basing my conclusion on this forum alone, its also personal experience...other things I have read and talking to people who have experienced issues in therapy.