I found a great therapy option for my depression cycle today, and that's light therapy. I just got another therapist and she absolutely sucks. I think I'm going to give her one more shot before I just say I'm done with her and give up on my school's counseling programs. But she did give me the option of light therapy for dealing with depression. So after that visit, I went upstairs to inquire about it, and it turns out that they offer 3 sessions for $3. I'm going to keep coming back. You just sit at a desk for a half hour under the light box, and it was like as soon as I sat down in front of the box, this rush of dopamine went flooding through my brain and it felt soooooo good. So I think I found a way to keep myself sane.
I hope it works. Light therapy is usually is aimed at those in colder and grayer climates. I had a 3 session for free therapy thing in grad school, which could have been extended. She sucked. Through Linkedin, I found out she is just hanging out as a freelance artist in some small town and only did psychology type work for about a dozen years. Why does your therapist suck? Can you sort of preview another one and get that other therapist? I'm off to therapy within the hour.
She wanted me on her caseload because she's an actual doctor, and not the people in training. I can't get a word in with that woman and she never lets me finish a sentence and I can't understand what she's trying to tell me.
OK so when you say she's an actual doctor, do you mean Ph.D or Psy.D. or MD? There's a world of difference between the first two and the third. An MD is a psychiatrist and the majority of their expertise is in dealing with psychopathic diagnoses (schizophrenia, psychosis, etc.). A Psy.D or Ph.D is a psychologist, and they are much better skilled (in most cases) at doing therapy. But... a psychologist where you can't get a word in edgewise, and won't let you finish a sentence... is arguably not even practicing psychotherapy, but advice-giving, which is completely different and, at least in that setting, not helpful. Some psychology interns can be extremely intuitive and skilled. Might be worth trying to get scheduled with an intern.
That doesn't sound good. At all. And you have a lot you want to talk about, based on some of the things you've discussed here. The one I had, in my opinion, didn't work well with men. She told a fellow female grad student of mine that she didn't want to see her beyond 3 sessions because she 'might get too attached to her.' My friend was very petite and vulnerable. She still is ... years later ... but someone keeps on going on. I wasn't concerned. It just meant she probably wouldn't get attached to me. No problem. Instead, when I made a comment about a lady in the college town who irritated me, she was visibly miffed. At that point, I understood what the underlying situation was. AG, I think with you being younger and with such a good attitude and openness to people, you wouldn't kick off any countertransference. From what I know of myself, I think I have kicked off countertransference in the past ... with some therapists. I like the one I have now. I've asked him for permission to be candid, which might involve me being crass, and he says 'go right ahead.' There's a better therapist out there for you. Are there any specific criteria you have? It might be advantageous to make a list of what you want from a therapist. I don't know how universities would align such a request with their staff, but it's worth looking into.
