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NatalieJastrow
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Default Oct 27, 2022 at 06:18 PM
  #1
Finally broke down and found therapy. It is a licensed social worker. I went for "health anxiety" but i have many issues.

The only weird thing I think is that she has seized upon a story from many years ago that I -- honestly -- think i am over and has nothing to do with my anxiety... but she seems obsessed.

It was lovely to have someone allow you to talk and be validating. She basically seemed to think I was right about everything. I was skipping out of the place.

I will go back next week.
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Default Oct 27, 2022 at 07:47 PM
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I am glad you had a good first session!
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Default Oct 27, 2022 at 09:06 PM
  #3
Great that you were able to get into Therapy.

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Default Nov 01, 2022 at 08:22 AM
  #4
Well... of course all of my sessions were denied by my insurance. Even though I called ahead of time. They left out the key factor that for them to be covered they had to be considered "medical necessity" by my primary care. And I refuse to allow that to be put on my medical record.

So, no I am not going to get my primary care to authorize it.

No wonder there is so much trouble with Mental Health in this country.
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Default Nov 01, 2022 at 08:54 AM
  #5
I paid cash for my therapy for 30 years because i didnt want any gatekeeping interference by an insurance company. I probably could have used some oversight, in retrospect. But the way everything is connected now, it probably IS on your permanent record.
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Default Nov 01, 2022 at 10:32 AM
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I paid out of pocket for my therapy for most of the 10+ years I saw L. We negotiated a discounted rate for a while, and then for another while I did half-sessions for half her normal rate. I did use my HSA sometimes, but mostly I paid cash. She doesn't take insurance, and my out of network deductible is so stupid-high I would never meet it anyway, so I didn't bother with insurance. Wait that's not completely true now that I'm thinking about it. During the first year, I worked at a different company and they covered out of network under the same deductible as in-network, so I submitted receipts for reimbursement after I'd met my deductible. They only reimbursed like 30% for out of network if i remember correctly. that was a long time ago now. I cannot believe it's been almost a year since I stopped seeing her! Yeesh how time flies.
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Default Nov 02, 2022 at 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by ArtieTheSequal View Post
I did use my HSA sometimes, but mostly I paid cash. She doesn't take insurance, and my out of network deductible is so stupid-high I would never meet it anyway, .
My HSA also denied me without authorization from my doctor for medical necessity. I am seeing the therapist for health anxiety / anxiety and I feel if I tell my regular doctor that I have that they will never listen to my symptoms again. So...

Still looking into what my options are.
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Default Nov 05, 2022 at 12:37 AM
  #8
Could you figure something out?

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Default Nov 17, 2022 at 08:06 PM
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Coming back to this my insurance did ultimately pay... just working on the HSA... but I think it it going to come to an end. It is great to focus on the issues but I am focusing too much... but it is lovely to have someone to talk to who is contractually obligated to listen.
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Default Dec 03, 2022 at 08:24 AM
  #10
I think I am going to have to stop with this. My therapist is nice but she had no insights and frankly I kind of have to remind her about my life every time I go. I am not getting anything out of this. My last appointment we just went round and round on the same issues. She had no answers for me. She had some good insights at the beginning but, I think we have gone as far as we can go.
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Default Dec 03, 2022 at 01:26 PM
  #11
Therapy can be slow. My therapist doesn't have answers for me either. All he has are questions. He helps me ask the right ones at the right time. That being said, he does remember what I tell him, so I don't know..

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Default Dec 03, 2022 at 04:10 PM
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It seems there are other issues here but regarding insights, it is not a therapist's job to give answers or have insights about us. That is actually scary and unethical. WE are the ones who ought to have insights about us because WE are the expert on us, not any other human.

Even solution-focused therapy will not work because the 'solution' has to come from clients.

IF you want answers, then a psychiatrist will gladly plonk a label onto you and try to 'fix' you with a diagnosis and/or meds. Or analysts will gladly listen to you and tell you what is 'wrong' with you. But this is not what (good) therapy is supposed to do.

If this is your expectation from therapy, then maybe therapy is not for you.
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Default Dec 03, 2022 at 10:20 PM
  #13
Sometimes a therapist is a bad fit. Six weeks is probably long enough to know whether there is something there worth going back for or not. You could try another therapist if you still think therapy might help you or you could decide to stop altogether. Before you do, though, you might consider talking to your therapist about your concerns and expectations. You certainly don't owe them that conversation, but it might be helpful toward either a) getting them on the same page as you, or b) for you to feel like you advocated for yourself (if that's something you struggle with). Regardless, I hope you find what you're looking for.
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Default Dec 03, 2022 at 10:30 PM
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I think therapists should do something recognizable besides just sit there and breathe. I think insights are what some of them do. Mostly I found them to be a useless group of grifters - but I think they try and sell themselves as more than that. Good luck if you decide to try another one. I don't think one can expect much from them - they are usually not that bright and become therapists to fix their own screwed up lives.

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Default Dec 09, 2022 at 07:16 AM
  #15
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If this is your expectation from therapy, then maybe therapy is not for you.
I guess not. But I had no expectation going in other than it would help.. I don't feel it is.

She doesn't provide anything to me. If I used that hour to think about these things myself I would probably do better.

It is nice to have someone paid to listen to you and she does that but that isn't getting me much.

I have one more appointment where we are going to tackle a BIG aspect of my life... if I do anything more than just "complain" the entire time, I may reconsider.
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Default Jan 27, 2023 at 09:01 AM
  #16
So I let it go on wayyyy too long because the year changed and I had insurance pay for 10 visits. But I ended up going for one more appointment. I told her I was at a point where I didn't have a health anxiety concern... so she focused on my weight.

Triggered.

This ending up making me SOOOO angry. SO angry. She tried to suggest my weight was due to my mental health. This simply isn't true. I do not eat a lot at all and I do not use food as a mechanism for feelings. She kept trying to suggest that I was lying to myself in some way. Of course, they do that because their advice doesn't work. I told her I once thought I was lying to myself as well so to prove it.. I paid for a liquid diet and the exact same thing happened that always happens... I lost weight and then it slowly started coming back. She acted like she didn't believe me.

She suggested Weight Watchers. What? I have been to weight watchers, at least 20 other programs, tried diet pills, liquid diet... fasting -- there is nothing I haven't done. They all have the same pattern... I lose weight, my metabolsim drops, I start gaining weight on the food that used to allow me to lose, and then, I gain until I hit a point where my weight increases my TDEE. It is a set point that I don't know how to re adjust. Even if I exercise -- eventually -- something will happen where you can't be "strict" and if you aren't you will gain back quickly. Because by dieting in the first place you suppressed your energy burned.

I do think this could be genetic. My mom died of gastric cancer and one reason we didn't know is because she didn't lose any weight -- even though she wasn't eating and was throwing up. Mom even got a feeding tube but never lost weight.

My "spirit" animal on this is Oprah. I am about 30 lbs less heavy than her but I feel she has the same disorder as me and has tried everything. We all saw her get up at 5 AM to exercise and that worked for a bit until she had a knee injury and it all came back. Getting up at 5 AM is also not sustainable. Oprah is one of the most disciplined and successful people in the world so it can't be about her discipline.

So I am done. She made me angry and a little hopeless and she didn't have much to add that wasn't bunk. So maybe most of her other advice was also bunk. Enough.
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