[stopdog]

What did you find useful in therapy?
Multiple choice

[Echos Myron redux]

Experiencing a relationship where I could just be me, feel heard, feel valued. Where I could develop a connection with another person free from pretence or expectations (of me). Where I can talk about the things I need to talk about, and know I can trust him to be there and be okay.

[ArtleyWilkins]

I went into therapy every time with really the only goal being to have that outside person to bounce life off of who I didn't need to protect. That person was that safe place for me.

Additionally, I discovered (didn't go into it with this in mind) that the process of working through my painful past and acquiring healthy skills that have served me well beyond therapy were both extremely beneficial.

[Xynesthesia2]

I often enjoyed the conversations especially with my 2nd T but useful...very little indeed. It helped a bit to maintain a new routine and I learned more about the nature of this approach/profession, which is a bit relevant to my work. Also confirmed what I already knew well about what kind of person I feel drawn to and what/whom I cannot tolerate.

When things were good, I felt cared for. I feel cared ABOUT and loved in my everyday life for who I am and what I do, but never cared FOR like a gardener lovingly tends to beautiful plants.

In the end, I had to put an alchemy of elements not suited for words. It turned into a mess.

[ChickenNoodleSoup]

Pretty much everything you listed except for 'nothing' and 'very little'.

i said: Falling apart/crying in a safe space (since that only garnered more punishment growing up), learning new skills, being accepted in all my f'ed up glory, to some extent corrective experiences, i guess the whole process, and a safe relationship with ex-t. Actually being seen and heard for myself.

[SlumberKitty]

I put: being accepted, the process, and a safe relationship with the therapist. I was mostly referring to former T because I think all these things occurred with former T. With current T I'm struggling to determine what I am finding useful. She's challenged me on some thoughts that has been useful but that's about it. This could be colored by the fact that she cancelled our last sessions so I'm not over the moon about her right now. Kit

[LostOnTheTrail]

I think the most important part of my current process is the relationship with the therapist, although that can quite easily be threatened. Other than that, I get a lot out of being able to talk without having to protect her. When I found one that really seemed to accept my experience, that was key to the beginning of my recovery.

[guilloche]

Well, I put nothing. Nothing good, anyway.

[Amyjay]

I only picked "other". None of the other options here apply to me.
What I find useful in our therapy (for DID) is having the space to enter our own process in the presence of a person who has knowledge about dissociation and how to guide it towards wholeness. I know far better than her what needs to be done, but I need someone on the outside who can "oversee" the process, especially when I personally am not present. For me it is all about the internal process of integrating emotions, memories and experiences. But I need that person on the outside to catch us when we get too triggered and guide the system back to the present.
Also, she holds all the parts of the story (that we have given her). For us they are often remembered or experienced in isolation. She is useful for knowing which parts to knit together with which other parts, when the parts that are out are not privy to that overview.

I do not at all see it as a safe place to have a relationship with the therapist. I see it as a space and time to work on developing the relationships between our selves.

[susannahsays]

I don't know. I'm confused.

[WarmFuzzySocks]

I chose several poll options, and also chose other:
My therapist's knowledge and experience working with abuse recovery, family dynamics, and relationship issues that bring me to therapy means she can offer me a perspective that I don't have. It helps to both normalize pieces of my life and feelings in some ways, and to get support for the stuff that isn't "normal" too, the kinds of things that the loving supportive people around me have little knowledge of and sometimes can't really wrap their heads around.

That, and she hardly ever gives advice. I need the practical loving supportive input I get from my outside-therapy people, but sometimes I need time and space to just wrestle out loud with my own ***** so I can figure it out, and she is able to converse and guide and listen in a way that allows me to do that.