[stopdog]

do you see the therapist as a teacher? If so, about what? You? Techniques? Psychology 101?
This has come up frequently as an idea here recently and I was wondering if it was usual.

[runlola72]

I haven't really learned anything from him directly. I've learned from the therapeutic relationship the magnitude of my attachment issues, but I have not been given any tools to figure this out. Getting a bit impatient. I've been ordering books online that might be helpful

[therapyishelping777]

Interesting question.. My T has definately taught me many things. so it was kind of like an all of the above yes. He has definately taught me tools to help me process life,and my thoughts which have really helped alot. He has also taught me about myself in me feeling free and trusting him to disclose things. He has seen things and interpretations have really brought me some breakthrough moments , things I haven't seen in myself that were very true.

[awkwardlyyours]

Yes, utterly, completely and totally. I look to therapists to teach me everything from the mysteries of the universe to why the traffic on the freeway near my place is horrendous (one of the Ts I saw was remarkably helpful in solving the latter puzzle).

P.S. On a totally off-topic note, this thread just popped up when

has been stuck in my head in a loop since this am (after hearing it blasted at full volume on the radio).

[stopdog]

Originally Posted by awkwardlyyours

Yes, utterly, completely and totally. I look to therapists to teach me everything from the mysteries of the universe to why the traffic on the freeway near my place is horrendous (one of the Ts I saw was remarkably helpful in solving the latter puzzle).

Sarcasm? or serious?

[awkwardlyyours]

Total sarcasm -- sorry, didn't mean to derail your thread with the juvenile humor.

[Argonautomobile]

Yes - in general about many things

Not that he's some great spiritual guru or has it all figured out or is an expert on life or anything. Just that he seems to know an awful lot of **** I somehow missed out on, like how to fill out a 1099 and whether beavers eat fish.

[atisketatasket]

Didn't we have this question or something similar before, and it devolved into a thread about fish? I learned more from the discussion of fish than I have from a therapist.

I said no, there is nothing useful to me that they can teach.

[stopdog]

I might have done it before - but since people change and new people arrive and it seems to be something I am reading about more on here - I thought I would do it (possibly again).
Things come around again often (emailing, googling, and gifts being, in my mind, the three most frequent)

[atisketatasket]

Also genuine/fake, love/like.

I checked the earlier question was: have you ever learned something new from a therapist? Different question.

[MobiusPsyche]

Yes but not in a didactic way but in a helping me discover things for myself kind of way.

[awkwardlyyours]

I think a thread for non-therapy-related things a T has told a client -- greatest hits version -- would be splendid.

I should clarify though that I definitely consider the discussion on fishes to be rather therapeutic -- very soothing (from a vegetarian's perspective), not to mention the whole teach a woman how to fish etc. (Okay, I'll quit right about here)

Yes, particularly my last therapist. Quite a few specific skills, methods for being proactive about matters, etc. that have helped me a great deal.

[phaset]

Yes, she is the best teacher I've ever had. She has taught me quite a bit about myself, really good coping skills, and a few other random things.

[atisketatasket]

Originally Posted by awkwardlyyours

I think a thread for non-therapy-related things a T has told a client -- greatest hits version -- would be splendid.

I should clarify though that I definitely consider the discussion on fishes to be rather therapeutic -- very soothing (from a vegetarian's perspective), not to mention the whole teach a woman how to fish etc. (Okay, I'll quit right about here)

You're feeling feisty today!

[awkwardlyyours]

Originally Posted by atisketatasket

You're feeling feisty today!

Bored + agitated (trying to deal with ridiculous crap at work) + waaaaaaaay too much caffeine.

Only in the sense that he models healthy boundaries and consistency in a way that can only be beneficial to me as a therapist. He doesn't teach me skills or anything like that. It's not what I see him for.

[BlessedRhiannon]

I see her more as a mentor or coach than a teacher. I see part of her role as coaching me in things I can do to help alleviate symptoms I experience. I see her as a mentor in modeling healthy relationships, health communication, and healthy emotions...all things I struggle with.

I see my T as a mentor. I'm desperately trying to teach her some stuff though, and bleh...heterosexual Ts without any LGBT training saying they don't need any.

[Pennster]

I see him more as a fellow traveler - he's someone who stands by my side as we peer into the abyss together. He's got some helpful ideas to try out, and he makes some interesting suggestions, so I do find him helpful. But so much of my therapy is about grief, and it's at once so personal to me and so totally universal, that sharing my experience with him feels like we're just two people wondering at the cruel vagaries of fate. I don't need teaching so much as companionship in facing it all.

[precaryous]

I feel we are all students if we have the willingness to learn. I feel T is a teacher. So are all of you.

yes, i do see her as a teacher about mostly everything. her techniques, insights, etc.

[BudFox]

I think therapists think they're teachers. I do not. I can't imagine what in their training qualifies them to teach anything, except maybe some basic Psych theory. I think they see themselves as teachers of life and relationships, which I find frightening.

[skeksi]

I said "about many things." My T has taught me a lot about my own inner workings, but also about how to view the world in a way that is less harmful to me and how relationships with people work on a very basic level.

[sweepy62]

Not a teacher, sort of like a tour guide, and as we walk here you will find this set of coping skills manufacturer ed in the early sixties, lol, and further down, you will find a list of numbers to help you in case of crisis, lol.