[slbest]

I would like feedback about being burnt out of therapy. I am 28 and have been in therapy for about 14 years. I just recently stopped and have not been in therapy for a year. Who else feels like after a long time of being in therapy you’re done talking about things? That’s how I’m feeling right now and would love some feedback about that and thoughts about it. Thanks!!

[piggy momma]

It's not unusual and even healthy to need a break from therapy. Even in long term therapy, the goal of your therapist should be to eventually become obsolete. If you've got nothing right now - enjoy the growth you've achieved and keep practicing your skills.

If you need therapy again in the future, it will be there for you.

[Rive1976]

I got burnt out too. Mainly because I couldn't find a good fit after my therapist of 8 years quit. So I just didn't go but I needed it. So here I go again.

[slbest]

It’s not even like I’m taking a break, I’m just done totally with therapy. I never connected with any of the therapists that I saw anyways. Maybe it seemed like I did but never made any progress.

Originally Posted by piggy momma

It's not unusual and even healthy to need a break from therapy. Even in long term therapy, the goal of your therapist should be to eventually become obsolete. If you've got nothing right now - enjoy the growth you've achieved and keep practicing your skills.

If you need therapy again in the future, it will be there for you.

[slbest]

Originally Posted by Dnester

I got burnt out too. Mainly because I couldn't find a good fit after my therapist of 8 years quit. So I just didn't go but I needed it. So here I go again.

Oh ok. So now you’re trying therapy again?

[SlumberKitty]

I haven't been in that exact situation, but I can imagine that after a long time of being in therapy (my longest therapy was 10 years with the same T but I wasn't done when we had to stop--she got sick with MS and couldn't see anyone anymore) and especially if there didn't seem to be a good deal of growth that one might just feel done and "over it" I think that is perfectly reasonable. If you ever want to try therapy again, you know you can but if you don't there are lots of other things to do or try. Kit.

[slbest]

Originally Posted by SlumberKitty

I haven't been in that exact situation, but I can imagine that after a long time of being in therapy (my longest therapy was 10 years with the same T but I wasn't done when we had to stop--she got sick with MS and couldn't see anyone anymore) and especially if there didn't seem to be a good deal of growth that one might just feel done and "over it" I think that is perfectly reasonable. If you ever want to try therapy again, you know you can but if you don't there are lots of other things to do or try. Kit.

Yeah, it’s tough. Therapy started to feel like a fake connection to me. I was with one therapist for 6 years and the rest were different. I’m exhausted from talking about my issues.

[slbest]

Any other thoughts?

[downandlonely]

I never found individual therapy very helpful. I go to a free support group and talk to other people with similar mental issues. I like that much better than therapy. If you're in the US, I can tell you about a couple of organizations that offer free support groups.

[slbest]

Originally Posted by downandlonely

I never found individual therapy very helpful. I go to a free support group and talk to other people with similar mental issues. I like that much better than therapy. If you're in the US, I can tell you about a couple of organizations that offer free support groups.

Yes I do live in the US. I would love it if you could tell me the name of those organizations!

[koru_kiwi]

Originally Posted by slbest

I would like feedback about being burnt out of therapy. I am 28 and have been in therapy for about 14 years. I just recently stopped and have not been in therapy for a year. Who else feels like after a long time of being in therapy you’re done talking about things? That’s how I’m feeling right now and would love some feedback about that and thoughts about it. Thanks!!

i was in therapy for a total of 7 years (one year with T1 and six years with T2) and ended about 18 months ago. it was not because i was done talking about me and my issues and definitely not because i was done healing, but because i felt i was done talking about my issues and working on my healing with the 'guidance' of a T. i felt confident that i no longer needed to try and sustain that kind of 'relationship' in my life to help me move forward in my healing to live a fulfilling life. since ending therapy, i actually have continued to make a lot of progress on my own, especially by pursuing different means and opportunities that talk therapy or the therapeutic relationship could never truely provide for me. plus, an added bonus is i have been able to save heaps of money to do more of the things i enjoy since i'm no longer paying large out of pocket sums of money each week to fund my ex-T's career and livelihood

[Ididitmyway]

My experience kind of overlaps with Koru's.

I am not going back to therapy because I don't believe that that modality the way it is practiced can give me anything useful any more. I haven't just been burnt out by therapy. I was harmed by therapy. But it's more than just one or two individual experiences. I've been harmed by the system and the way it works.

Like Koru, I've been doing my personal work outside of therapy in other ways. That's not because I have nothing to talk about anymore. I have plenty. That's because I don't believe that any therapist at this point can understand my experience even remotely close to what it is, let alone help me deal with it in a constructive way. I don't believe that the profession, as a whole, is equipped to deal with my problems on the level they need to be dealt with.