Do you think it takes faith in therapy for it to work?

stopdog · Aug 17, 2018, 07:43 AM

Do you think it takes faith therapy for it to work?

CantExplain · Aug 17, 2018, 07:55 AM

Yes, especially at the beginning.

I had no idea what to expect (or rather my expectations were based on fiction), and no experience of its success. And it gets worse before it gets better. That's when you need faith the most. A lot of people give up at this point.

If the patient is depressed, it can be very difficult to find that faith. So the therapist must either be very warm or very convincing, even charismatic.

If faith fails before the patient has seen any improvement, naturally he or she feels betrayed and spends the next decade posting antitherapist rants on Psych Central.

stopdog · Aug 17, 2018, 07:57 AM

It does not always get better.

atisketatasket · Aug 17, 2018, 08:04 AM

Faith is necessary for placebos and patent medicines to work.

CantExplain · Aug 17, 2018, 08:10 AM

Interesting choice of options, SD. Does prostitution take faith?

Aug 17, 2018, 08:10 AM

i imagine it's helpful to have faith in the process because i've been to therapy under duress, and my unwillingness to believe that it would do much to benefit me surely affected my experience in those cases. i was closed off to anything the therapist said. i think in most areas of life, if you go in with the intention of things working out, they're more likely to work out than if you go in with a bad feeling.

Aug 17, 2018, 08:20 AM

I chose I think one needs some faith. And I've learned through all of the work I've done on myself thus far that my son was correct a couple years ago when he said that I have trust issues. I do. And faith is hard for me. Really hard. I'm struggling mightily with the whole 'turning it over to our higher power' thing in codependents anonymous right now. we talked about that in therapy yesterday actually.
But I'm getting off-topic. Yes, I think it does take some faith in the 'process' of therapy (whatever that exactly is anyway) for it to work. Or, at least, faith that you want it to work?

LostOne369 · Aug 17, 2018, 08:23 AM

I think what brings most people to therapy is that they're at the end of whatever rope they're holding onto and have run out of ideas. I think it takes some form of faith and hope for someone to think therapy can help, when they are at wits end on their own?

Echos Myron redux · Aug 17, 2018, 08:24 AM

I was neutral about what it could do for me. I didn't enter into it with any faith. I think it has helped me to develop faith in myself, and that's been the point.

Taylor27 · Aug 17, 2018, 08:37 AM

Yes it does take allot of faith to be in therapy. It's hard work sometimes it feel over whelming however i feel it is helping me function in life

JaneTennison1 · Aug 17, 2018, 09:06 AM

I have very little faith. Enough to keep me going every week and that is about it. Is that even faith? Maybe hope because things feel pretty crappy sometimes.

T wants to teach me breathing exercises. She says she wants to help. I told her I dont believe her, usually people try and help but then blame me for not getting better rather than blame their techniques.

Lemoncake · Aug 17, 2018, 09:39 AM

My T has said the phrase "stay the course".

that for me would require both trust and faith that he will get me to where I need to be.

winterblues17 · Aug 17, 2018, 10:40 AM

I think personally I need to have faith in the therapist, I think without that I wouldn't end up getting very far, which I have but I just now need to have faith in myself and others to progress to the next step.

Carmina · Aug 17, 2018, 10:43 AM

Don't believe in faith

mostlylurking · Aug 17, 2018, 10:50 AM

I think it takes some faith in the concept of therapy, just to tell personal things to a stranger.

starfishing · Aug 17, 2018, 11:58 AM

I wouldn't say it requires faith at all. Willingness and ability to stick with it long enough to see if it's helpful for you, yes. But there's real evidence that psychotherapy is an effective treatment for many people, at least when provided competently by an adequately trained therapist. I don't need faith when I can look at data.

So no faith needed, unless you also call it faith to be willing to try a new medication for long enough to see if it's effective, or to stick with a course of physical therapy exercises that might be painful to see if they help your symptoms in the long run. The place where it gets complicated is that psychotherapy can be very differently challenging than taking a medication, or even than going to PT. It's a less linear process, the "side effects" can be less predictable, and judging its effectiveness can be more subjective depending on what the things are that you're hoping to address.

Carmina · Aug 17, 2018, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starfishing

I wouldn't say it requires faith at all. Willingness and ability to stick with it long enough to see if it's helpful for you, yes. But there's real evidence that psychotherapy is an effective treatment for many people, at least when provided competently by an adequately trained therapist. I don't need faith when I can look at data.

Exactly, I've studied, researched and experienced multiple types of therapy over many years. I go in with my eyes open knowing what is involved, how it works, what the limitations may be, and what to expect. No faith required.

Salmon77 · Aug 17, 2018, 02:29 PM

I said "what is the definition of faith" because if you mean unquestioning belief without evidence, then I'd say no, faith is not required.

But IMO the patient achieves progress in therapy through their own effort, and by being open (at least listening and thinking about, maybe critically) to whatever the therapy involves (presence, discussion, homework, etc). I don't know that a patient who didn't have at least some belief that therapy might work would go through all that effort, and no effort means no progress.

InnerPeace111 · Aug 17, 2018, 02:57 PM

I think it takes faith along with a bit of luck and definitely a whole lot of other assorted things like hard work, effort, grit, motivation, self-compassion, persistence, perseverance, willingness, etc. Tough stuff for sure but all worth it in the end!

Aug 17, 2018, 03:10 PM

Although I do also have to say that faith had very little to do with me continuing therapy when my work was at its most difficult - no, at that time it was my attachment to t that kept me coming back.

BudFox · Aug 17, 2018, 05:54 PM

According to evidence presented in the book I am reading -- faith, individual belief, collective cultural belief, ritual, context, meaning... these are the primary determinants of healing, across all systems, accounting for 60-80%.

Specific treatments make little difference other than mobilizing innate healing mechanisms of the human body, which do almost all the work.

Therapy has to be 100% due to these non-specific factors, because there is no actual treatment taking place. There is nothing directly manipulating the body or mind chemically or mechanically or otherwise. It's pure ritual.

growlycat · Aug 17, 2018, 06:15 PM

When one t left me in the hospital before transitioning to a new t, I had zero faith in therapy or therapists. Somehow my old long term t managed to get me to keep coming. I answered no in this poll but maybe it is more suspension of belief but doing it anyways.