Do you like your therapist?

[Al_stargate]

How do you get along with your shrink? Do you like therapy sessions, do you think they're helpful. My shrink is nice but I am annoyed with pill pushing. I guess it comes with the therapy. Is you shrink considerate and what do you talk about in sessions?

 

[wljourney]

My "shrink" doesn't do therapy. Solely drugs/therapies as in rTMS/ECT/Ketamine. She is HORRID. Poor listener, can't remember basic personal information, even forgets what I have tried in the past. Clearly doesn't take notes or doesn't care to read them later.
I only talk to her in the required 3 months intervals to get maintenance Rx renewed.

Therapist is awesome. She remembers EVERYTHING I tell her. Even the things that I barely remember and brings them up at exactly the right times. She is 1000% more helpful than the "shrink" when it comes to processing recent and past situations.

(Though w/o the maintenance meds I'd be rocking back and forth in some dark corner, so I guess they both have their "usefulness".)

 

[BrokenLine]

Yes I liked two of my psychologist's, they were looking for ways for for me to see change with a lot of suggestions but never pushy. My psychiatrists were more pill pushing, because that's there job, At least in Scotland where I am.

Psychiatrist are looking to get you to a state where you're ready and able to create change.

Psychologists are there to help create change, and any change from a good psychologists is driven by the patient. They'll listen and help you understand what could be negative thoughts and behavior and suggest ideas for change. But change must be self driven so the person is changing and isn't just going alone this things. They will also be keeping an eye out incase you're becoming suicidal or self harming etc, to get you support so will work with a psychiatrist or at least can refer you.

But at the end of the day, its there job and because of how society sees things and the ethics of their job. You can never say everything you would like or get the help you really want.

 

[StrangePossum]

I think my therapist is a nice person, and she's been a good listener in our sessions, but I can't trust her. I don't really know why, but I just can't trust her completely, and I think it has hampered our progress somewhat. Our sessions have been feeling pretty aimless lately. She's only the second therapist I've seen though, and she's an intern. I think I will try speaking to another therapist soon and hope that I can trust them more.

I've never been to a psychiatrist but my understanding is that they are not really there to get to know you, they are just there to figure out which medication is tolerable for you and adjust your dose if needed. Maybe the better ones will make more of an effort to get to know you. I've been considering seeing one in addition to my therapist because therapy just hasn't been as helpful as I'd hoped.

 

[13_reasons]

Not sure what therapist refers to in this context (must be an American thing?) anyway:

I adore my psychiatrist. I feel that I can be very honest with him and can tell him anything. He agrees that locking me up for any trace of suicidal ideation will only cause more trauma and exacerbate my situation, and that an involuntary admission would be counterproductive to what he wants me to be able to achieve. Very down to earth and seems to be able to remember the most random details (like my friends' names, which one has a dog etc!). I got very lucky as he is my first psychiatrist and I know that not everyone will have that kind of rapport with their psychiatrist. At the same time because I like him so much I feel like I'm letting him down by being so rampantly suicidal - I feel bad because I know I've put him through a lot and he works really hard to keep me well.

My psychologist is a great fit for me- she was specifically chosen by my psychiatrist because he felt that she would be a good fit for me. She is a good mix of empathetic listening with a no nonsense approach to coming up with solutions and exploring ways to help me experience life with a little less pain. I'm often surprised by what she manages to get out of me during our sessions, but I always feel very safe and listened to, and I feel like she's on my side.

In summary: I'm ridiculously lucky in that I by a complete fluke I was matched up with both a psychiatrist and psychologist who look after me so well. Sadly it adds to the guilt of desperately wanting to CTB, and at the moment I just feel like I'm treading water to keep myself alive in between the weekly/ fortnightly sessions. I often feel like I don't really deserve them and that I'm taking their time away from someone who is actively trying to recover and who would benefit from their care and expertise. It's a double edged sword.

 

[jdblaze]

I really like my psychiatrist and services his office has to offer. I hate having to deal with his office though. He is a great provider though, I feel like I can tell him anything. He hasn't really been involved in any of my hospitalizations so I don't know how pushy he is with that but I feel he has a more wait and see approach when making changes.

My therapist I also really like and I have only been seeing her for a few months. These aren't my first providers and I have had to go through many duds to get the providers I have now but I would say I am pretty lucky with my current treatment team.

 

[Neverlive]

My therapiest only give me pills to make me sleep. That's all...I don't feel he really helps me..I wished an eternal dream.

 

[Lullaby]

The therapist I have now is the best I've ever had. I don't dread going to sessions anymore and I can be completely open with her about anything, even my suicidal thoughts and I get no judgment. She's also just really supportive in general.

My psychiatrist really sucks, though, but they all generally seem to.

 

[western_heart]

i liked my old therapist, but she quit (career change) and I never bothered to find another.

When she told me she was leaving, she advised me to find a therapist who specializes in dissociative disorders. The one she found for me kinda blew me off, and I never bothered to find anyone else...

 

[Calltome]

I really like the therapist I have now. She actually listens to me and doesn't just invalidate everything that I'm feeling and that I say.
My psychiatrist on the other hand is an asshole but they give me the drugs that generally help make things at least bareable.

 

[the_phoenix_project]

I like my therapist/psychologist, but I think I can never really talk to her candidly about my suicidal thoughts because I'm paranoid about getting reported to the police or forcibly committed to a psych ward or something like that. I haven't even told her about my two suicide attempts in 2015 and the one time I almost attempted suicide in 2011.