Have you ever been to a therapist? How does that make you feel?

I have been to therapists a couple of times when I thought I was imagining my pain. I was buying in the "stress causes most women's health problems" lie back hen. I found that I was better off weighing the pros and cons of any choice and then just doing what I needed to do. My pain wasn't due to stress, its due to an old injury and the ramifications leading from it. NO matter how much I talk and distract myself I am in pain, so I don't talk with therapists about that anymore. I have yet to find a good therapist because it is their job to send you back into the same situations with a changed point of view. They don't change the situation.

I've been seeing a therapist for almost two years now. In my experience it's hard at first considering that I'm not the one to spill my true emotions. But at the same time its helpful considering that I have a way to release emotions and memories out in a safe enviroment.

They are a bore. Truly...a huge bore. If it is couple therapy, I have to sit there and listen to him sat things that irritate me and keep my mouth shut! And truly, the therapist has nothing to offer that helps! We walked out with still being upset at each other and one really being upset because the other "offered too much information". LOL Or individual therapy. Please! My experience has been that the doctor will just sit there and ask questions. There is no perspective offered that I didn't already know. So I walk out still lost and thinking that they just like to watch people cry!

OK the words "How does that make you feel" and therapist should never be used in the same sentence. That was a long standing joke between my friends because I saw someone when I was in high school and that was all she knew to how to say, it drove me crazy. If you find someone that you trust and doesn't make you feel judged then yes theorpy works. Are you more comfortable with males or females. Who will make you feel less uncomfortable? If you go to someone and you don't get the warm and fuzzy, don't go back find someone else. I hope this helps.

When my first husband left me for another woman I talked to a therapist for a while. The therapist worked with patients at the hospital where I was employed and I just sat down one day at lunch and filled his ear full! It helped so much! I later went back to school and got my Master's degree in mental health nursing! I am now qualified to counsel others! You are correct that just as in any profession, there are good and bad therapists.

You know. people have been having kids for centuries just fine without involving some nosey therapist, Really, unless you are schitzophrenic or bi polar and are afraid that you might have to change your meds, you don't need to talk to a therapist about having a baby. I took my son to a shrink years ago because he picked up a chair andheaved it at the teacher Too bad he missed. It turnsout thatshe wasabusing him. However, I had to talk to him as well, and he said that my kids were perfectly healthy mentally, andso was I considering some of the things that we had been through

Oh my....yes I have been to therapy numerous times in my life..I went for the first time when I was a teenager and was forced to go...back then they tended to go along with the parents rather than actually doing their jobs and getting to the root of it all so that was a total bust....I was forced to go back again when i was 15 when I moved home for a few months and was actually an outpatient at the psych ward as well as having to talk to two different ppl at school every tuesday (both fo them were great though) that was a bust and was also what prevented me from goin back to therapy for many many yrs until about 3 yrs ago....i went for 6 mths, finally got put on medication and it went well..i'm actually considering goin back sometime soon too... I lucked out with the last therapist...i really liked her but ended up stopping goin because my husband started to go and both my kids started to go and we just couldnt afford the copay for all four of us goin every week so I backed out....now that they are done though I'm thinkin I'm gonna go back and finish dealing with what needs to be dealt with ya know...Finding a good therapist can be tough and i think depends on where you are located too really but dont let one bad one prevent you from trying again...You may have to go through a couple of different consultations before finding the right one but there is one suited for you ;-)

I think that finding a good therapist is pretty similar to finding a good GP, or a good dentist - recommendations, being fortunate enough to find a good one by chance, or if you happen to find (as you did) that your therapist is no good, then stop going to that one, and try to find another one. GPs can often advise you and recommend a good therapist, as part of their job is referring patients to therapists where appropriate (in the UK at least). I had therapy several years ago, and it was very helpful for me. My psychologist had no experience or understanding of the kind of thing I'd been through, so it was a bit of a learning experience for her, and kind of made it a bit more difficult for me in a way. But on the flip side, it made me think objectively about what I'd been through, and think about how to articulate it, which helped me in another way. I think that the aspect of having an impartial, concerned therapist to talk to and talk through your thought processes with can in itself be helpful. Talking to someone like the therapist you spoke of, can do more harm than good though, so I'd get recommendations if I were you! All the best, and good luck :-)

I did go this route twice after my divorces. I spent thousands of dollars, some paid by insurance, and it really didn't do much good. I never made much progress and few issues were solved. I never missed an appointment and was willing to talk about things, but for some reason it didn't work for me. I wouldn't do it again.

I have never had therapy before, but I am working on my Masters degree in marriage and family counseling. It sounds to me like your most recent therapist did not follow one of the main things we have learned in class. We are not supposed to let our opinions color how we treat a client. I think this would be difficult, but we at least we should not try to overinfluence the client or make them feel bad because of their decisions or life style. I think that therapy will work for some people better than others and some people have to find the right therapist to go to for the help they need. Not every therapist will fit every client.

I've been in and out of therapy for years and I have had a mixture of good experiences and bad experiences. As a kid, most of my experiences were fairly bad... some therapists, like you said, wanted to blame me for everything despite obvious abuse. One, who I saw for several years, had absolutely no clue what to do for me. At the age of 18, I saw a therapist who was not very helpful. I was homeless at the time and going through a lot of anxiety and depression. I carried a teddybear around with me for security. One time my caseworker at the homeless shelter accidentally put my therapy records into my mailbox, and I read them... my therapist had written horrid things about me! Including that I was immature and that I smelled foul. Now it is a lot easier to find a therapist who you can work well with. You can search online, for one thing! (I found my current therapist bv doing a search at PsychologyToday.com) You can do a specific search for a therapist who specializes in certain areas. For instance, a therapist who has a lot of experience working with adults abused as children will probably know not to place the blame on the child, where a therapist experienced in dealing with people with severe conduct disorders might focus on how the person's choices led to bad things happening to him. Good luck!

I pretty much lucked out. I go every 2 weeks or so, for 10 years now. I think he is bit conservative, I also think he saved my life once or twice. If you don't like the first or second one, find a third one. Get somebody smart and kind I think. PHD or something. If you don't like any of em its probably you. I think its great. Kind of expensive sometimes. You get to complain and have someone listen. If you have no issues that is still good. And most of us have PLENTY of issues.

The first time I saw a therapist, i was only seven years old. It was because i'd been randomly attacking the other children. The therapist gave me some good advice, which I took; 'think before you act' and I stopped attacking other children...mostly. That was the most useful therapist i've ever seen. I'd estimate the total amount of therapists i've seen in my life to be somewhere around twenty...i guess it would be fair to say i'm an extremely messed up individual! I've seen them for various reasons...conflict resolution with my parents, anger management, a phobia I had, depression, and many times during highschool i made up problems just to get out of math class lol. None of them were of any real use to me, but i never learn my lesson, and keep going back. On two occassions, when I was very poor and could only see free therapists, I encoutered very bad ones that were insulting, judgemental, and far from even attempting to be helpful. In my experience, the good therapists are all highly qualified and expensive, have their own offices or work from home as opposed to being found in any kind of group or centre. I think the best way to find one is to talk to a trusted family doctor and have them reccomend one that they've seen give good results with other patients and that specialises in the kind of problem you're dealing with.

I've never been to a therapist. According to a doctor I once had, I was perfectly fine mentally. Its funny how I tried to get myself into therapy because people would call me crazy. (For example, I would use Pokemon shoes since I loved the show even when other kids said it was uncool.)

Right now I'm not seeing one but wish I could at least with a good one. It can be hard to find one that really is good and can aid you. I've had my share of ones that judge or don't understand. They know the book work for being a therapist but they just don't seem to know how to connect with patients; at least that's how I view it. When I did have a good therapist it did help. It made me feel a lot better about things in my life. I made some head way with some of my issues and that was good. Finding the good therapist though is more just lucking out. Unless you know someone who recommends a good one it's more trial and error while you hope. Sometimes you get lucky and find one right off but other times you have to keep searching and searching but sooner or later you might find one that is right for you.

I got really lucky with my therapist as he was the first one I ever saw and he was terrific. He was non-judgemental, which is extremely important, as everyone here seems to agree. What I liked best about him was that he never tried to solve my problems. He would listen, and then he would guide me to come to my realizations and figure out my problems myself. He made me take responsibility without making me feel like I had to. Does that make sense? He just knew the right questions to ask and he would bring in stories or poems he came across that he thought would help enlighten me. All in all I was thrilled and it really helped me. I looked forward to going to my sessions every week. It was great to have something to really look forward to. I agree with what most people are saying, that you need to just keep searching until you find the one that fits with you. Once you find that one, therapy is really a huge help. I don't think friends will ever have the same effect because no matter how hard they try, they will never be completely nuetral. I say never give up looking because the right one is out there and the benefits when you find that one are worth the journey.

Yes actually, I do go to therapy. I am bipolar and have PTSD and I need to talk about my problems every once in awhile. I used to go every week until I got better. I was just recently diagnosed, so before I was placed on meds, I was really bad. Yes, therapy helps very much, and I just went to the Mental health office to find her. She is very understanding and caring, I just love her.

I have been in therapy at various times during my life, and I guess I'd classify my feelings about it as "mixed bag." It's not easy to find a good therapist, and the sad thing is that most people who really NEED a therapist are in no emotional state to go through the rigors of interviewing as many as is needed to find a good "fit." And that's pretty much what you have to do. Some people in the mental health profession will tell you that they can "work with anybody," but any therapist worth their salt will not even take on a client they don't feel like they are having good rapport with. Unfortunately, most people don't end up CHOOSING their therapist, they are just referred to one. My last therapist (counseling after my divorce-- messy) was really good-- but I probably interviewed 12-15 therapists before choosing to work with her. Fortunately, most therapists will give you a "free consult" to talk to them and get a sense for personality matches/clashes. The ones who seem offended when I start quizzing them do NOT get the job... EVER. The ones who seem condescending anf know-it-all-ish also get taken out of the running. You have to be willing to keep going till you find someone you really LIKE. Some people will say it's "bad" to be friendly with your therapist, but that's patent nonsense... unless you are "sort-of friends" you're not going to feel comfortable truly opening up to that person, and so you'll get less benefit from the sessions. On the whole, I have had mixed experiences with therapy. Because I am rather well-read in psychology, I would only consider seeing a "therapist's therapist" if I were looking for someone, today. I have had too many incidences of "reverse transference" in my therapeutic experiences... mostly in the sense that I have found myself spending $90/hr to not GET counseling, but to end up counseling the &%$#* therapist.

This is a really hard question for me to answer because I have been in and out of therapy for years over crap that happened when I was a kid and because I'm bi-polar. I stopped going altogether about 2 years ago. The only thing I can say is finding a GOOD therapist is the key. When I had good ones I found it helped, but when I had crappy ones it made me worse.

I went to a therapist for a while about 6 years ago. I was going through some major changes in my life and became very depressed. My therapist was actually very helpful. It was just nice to be able to talk to someone who wasn't impartial and could tell me the things I needed to hear to try to get my life back in order. I had thought about going back to a therapist last year after I had my daughter. I was going through some post partum and thought it would be nice to be able to talk to someone who may understand why I would start crying for absolutely no reason. I ended up not going and I'm doing much better now. But I think if you find the right therapist they can actually do you a lot of good.