The manipulative and harmful nature of psychodynamic therapy

I'm sorry, SaraSweden, but the problem you're experiencing is not limited to Sweden.

I live in North America and short-term CBT (10 sessions) and group therapy are the standard here for people without insurance, too. It's less expensive, evidence-based, and more readily available for the multitudes of people who have mental health issues.

Imagine how unavailable mental health services would be if they attempted to provide long-term psychodynamic therapy to everyone? Who would pay for it? Is it realistic that a large number of people would be able to access it, or only a select few? Is that fair?

I live in Canada where we have "free healthcare" (so the saying goes), but that doesn't include therapy. When I wasn't working I saw therapists who accepted sliding scales or government funded services, which were often short-term, group centered, and CBT based. I got out of it what I could. Even now that I'm employed, my employer covers only $25 off each session up to a maximum of $200 in a calendar year!

Try group therapy. You can't always get what you want, and expecting the government to pay for long-term psychodynamic therapy it is unrealistic.

Isn't Yalom an existential therapist and a big proponent of group therapy? I think his approach might be different from psychodynamic therapy, so you and feileacan might be talking about somewhat different things.



Yes! My secondary therapist specializes in working with people with intense emotions (which includes people who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder), and she and I have talked about how the blank screen is terrible for sensitive people because we read rejection where it isn't there. Same thing for CBT because it can feel super invalidating. Childhood emotional neglect is very real and can have long-lasting effects. Have you read Running on Empty and its sequel? I also found a pretty good DBT for depression workbook that helps somewhat with emotional regulation, among other things.

It's too bad that you don't have the ability to access anything that isn't CBT or psychodynamic therapy. Something more relational might help you open up a little better. There is still often an awkward phase at the beginning of any therapy relationship, and I think therapists tend to warm up and adapt more readily once they get to know the client, so it can be hard to know when to stick it out and when to throw in the towel. Hopefully you find something (therapy or otherwise) that can help you move toward where you want to be in life.

Hello SarahSweden, just wanted to thank you for this thread and your comments. I agree with you about the manipulative aspects certain types of therapy. I am still attempting to recover from what transpired in past therapy and I too feel for anyone else who has been wounded in this way.

Never smile when greeting a client
Starts and stops sessions at the very minute
Don´t answer to any kind of questions about themselves
Refuse to share simple things about the weather or similar

Hello SarahSweden, just wanted to thank you for this thread and your comments. I agree with you about the manipulative aspects certain types of therapy. I am still attempting to recover from what transpired in past therapy and I too feel for anyone else who has been wounded in this way.

None of the therapists I saw were psychodynamic, yet all of them exhibited this kind of borderline sociopathic behavior, just to a somewhat lesser degree than what you describe.

They were all manipulative, by virtue of their contrived and mechanical "caring", and in so many other ways.

Most shut down the sessions abruptly when the hour was up, and generally ran the process in a strange and unnatural way.

From these experiences, I still feel like I am covered in some weird slime that I can't wash off.

Thanks. I think therapists who work from a traditional psychodynamic theory are the most "extreme" when it comes to unnatural behavior and constructed actions. But obviously you find this within other kinds of therapists as well.

To more or less "throw" the client out of the room when the time is up is nothing else but a bizarre way of ending an often private and emotional relating of issues.

For those who don´t know much about therapy or recently started it can easily trigger feelings of abandonment, rejection, bullying and so on. Especially if the therapist explains everything through the transference lense and refuses to admit making any mistakes or hurting the client.

Yes, I agree. It's interesting that therapy clients have to reassure one another that it's normal to feel degraded or traumatized by such alarming behavior. Of course it is.

Pushing someone out the door without regard for their well-being, refusing to answer basic questions... these are characteristics of abusive and controlling relationships. I think it's a sign of strength to identify them as such, rather than give in to subjugation... i.e. this feels wrong but my therapist says it's good for me.