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To those who are in/have had therapy/counselling

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Canterpiece, Oct 5, 2015.

  1. Canterpiece

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    When I was in Primary school I used to have to go to the school counsellor until one day she had a mental breakdown in front of me and then she said she'd be right back, quickly walked to the door, opened it and started running in the other direction, and she never returned . :confused:

    Can't say I blame her, must be a stressful job. I'm not the only one this has happened to right? I just hope she was ok in the end. :confused:

    Yeah.....
     
  2. imnotreallysure

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    This sounds terrible but I laughed when I imagined the scenario above.. doesn't seem like the type of thing you'd expect to see in real life.

    I've been to counseling more times than I can remember and this never happened to me.
     
  3. Ryu

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    I had councilling in primary school (because of my aspergers) and hated every second of it. I always felt it was always really condescending in the way it was... Never wanna councellor or therapist again...

    And the above scenario never happened to me. Sounds abdoloutley hillarious though.
     
  4. Kaiser

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    No. I cannot say I've contributed to that, at least when it comes to a counselor.

    Therapy is 10% finding the right therapist, 20% having the financial means to pay, and 70% what you make of it. When it is necessary, I get my money's worth, and accept no wasting of time.

    Boring answer...
    For the most part, I've gotten along with any sort of counseling figure with grade school being an exception. The few times there's a problem, a request to be switched fixes that. I'm not a fan of the pompously moral high ground approach, which a few do have.

    What normally happens with my sessions, we spend the first 5 minutes discussing me and then the other 45+ minutes discussing general topics (politics, philosophy, interests) or them talking to me about themselves. With two of them, we were able to play Chess, which I really liked. Never finished a single game with either of them... but the experience was interesting, and it helped to move the conversations along.

    Almost a year ago, I had a bad experience with a psychiatrist. I was deserving of that. though, there was quite a bit of catching up to do. But that's behind me. As of recently, visits have been tolerable. Nobody has been condescending, and when they have, it's understandable. "I'm a woman", coming from this being, leaves the most uniquely formulated facial expression on people. They laugh, I wait, they realize I'm serious, it stops -- then we get down to business.

    Therapy is 10% finding the right therapist, 20% having the financial means to pay, and 70% what you make of it. It's something to do to get something you want. And, it is nice to talk to somebody who has some education and is potentially clever. The best conversations I've had with a counselor tend to involve joking about something, like politics. Most therapists I've had tend to lean Democrat, so about any right-wing joke tickles their fancy and, honestly, the Republican Party makes it easier. All the parties are jokes. If I can laugh with them, we're half way to approval.

    Therapy is, both, practice for having a conversation and a means of making a connection. Behind that pen and notepad and receding hair line, there's a human being, just like you. With thoughts, fears, sense of humor, life, and so on. I've discussed behavior and disorders with psychiatrists and to see them light up, come alive with a 'I finally get to engage in something I know I'm good at', it really generates some fantastic talking pieces. At the same time, I've talked with one particular therapist and his "Woodstock days", and his personal stories about drug usage.

    It's pretty cool to know there's stuff going on, or did go on, in their life, just like yours. I'm not exactly agreeable about talking to a practical stranger, about the most intimate and provoking pieces of myself, face to face, without knowing something about them.

    I may as well get naked and put a cherry in my mouth, LOL.
     
    #4 Kaiser, Oct 5, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2015
  5. thepandaboss

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    That's definitely a therapist who didn't need to be a therapist... Just saying. I did have a therapist who honestly believed autism was caused by food additives and that people turned trans because of environmental pollution and plastic exposure.
     
    #5 thepandaboss, Oct 5, 2015
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  6. Chip

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    Wow.

    I'm sure this happens now and then but it certainly isn't common, and I'm sorry it happened to you. Hopefully you were able to realize it was her, and not you, and that it had nothing to do with you.
     
  7. peachygogh

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    Wow, I've been seeing my schools social worker, and a therapist outside of school and its not awful
     
  8. Lawrence

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    Nothing as dramatic as what you saw. I'd feel very confused, and I'd think she needs counselling more than I do!

    I was extremely uncooperative at first. But I've pretty much confessed everything about myself to some medical professionals. I might be serious for the first 10 minutes. But we ended up talking about morbid topics.

    In my experience, some medical professionals were definitely more skilled than others. End of the day, medical professionals are only human; they can make mistakes and they have their own problems.
     
  9. imnotreallysure

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    I didn't get along with all of my counselors - there were many who I thought were pushing me too hard or were trying to get more information out of me than I was willing to divulge. That pissed me off.

    I remember one in particular who I was fond of - she was more like an outreach worker and we would go into town and get something to eat, or go to a game's room and talk while playing air hockey or something. I felt a lot more relaxed in those scenarios - it felt more informal and she appeared human and approachable, and didn't spend all our of time together just taking down notes and saying 'mhm, mhm' - and I got to know her a little bit too. She really helped me a lot.
     
    #9 imnotreallysure, Oct 5, 2015
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  10. Moonflower

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    That does not usually happen. Was she really young-like her first job or something? Wow.
     
  11. Biker boy

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    Sorry to hear but it is a funny thought... People are people and deal with things differently. Though that wasn't the best way to handle whatever she was dealing with it just shows we all have things to deal with at one point or another. I hope you were able to work out what you needed after that episode
     
  12. Aspen

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    Wow. That's certainly an out of the ordinary experience. I saw a counselor my second-to-last semester of uni and my only regret was that I didn't go sooner. She was a big help.
     
  13. Canterpiece

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    Trust me, I was very confused at the time at her sudden outburst. Now I can't help but look back and laugh a little inside. :grin:

    ---------- Post added 6th Oct 2015 at 08:07 PM ----------

    I'm not sure how young she was, never really asked. Looking back I do wonder just how qualified she really was. :dry:

    At the beginning of each session she would get me to stand on one leg, and then the same with the other. I don't know why, probably to check my balance or something? I've no idea.


    I'm still not sure why I was put in therapy in the first place, I was told it was something to do with me not thinking "inside the box" enough. I always found it ironic that I had teachers who would do assemblies on how they would see dead people (yes, we really had an
    assembly about that) and yet they think I'm the one who needs therapy? :lol: :bang: The world is a strange place.

    ---------- Post added 6th Oct 2015 at 08:15 PM ----------

    I'm honestly not sure what I was supposed to gain from the sessions. I mean I spent months with this counsellor trying to supposedly learn how to "think INSIDE the box" more (and then I got another counsellor after the first one had a mental break down) and then as soon as I came out of my final session with her I had an assembly about "thinking OUTSIDE the box".

    I mean, what?!?! I spend months upon months learning how to think "inside the box" (in their standards) and when I finally do you want me to think OUTSIDE the box?

    I. What. I don't even. :bang:

    Primary school was very confusing for me. :roflmao:

    ---------- Post added 6th Oct 2015 at 08:21 PM ----------

    I honestly have to wonder sometimes if I contributed to her breakdown, I wouldn't blame her if that was the reason, I must have been a handful to deal with when I was younger. :grin:
     
    #13 Canterpiece, Oct 6, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2015