Psychology

[Marchhare]

Hi
Has anyone undergone Psychology sessions, if so what did thay consist of and was it helpfull?
marchhare

 

[saffron]

I saw a psychologist years ago, at the time I did not think it helped my actually problem, but it did help me get things straighter in my head in regards to what problems I have, unfortunately although I know now what is wrong, kinda, It did not help me further, thats not to say that it will not be good for you, as it is such an idividual response.
good luck
S

 

[Dollit]

Clinical psychology has quite a broad spectrum but is about changing behaviour by changing thinking basically. CBT is a form of psychology which has been talked about a lot on here.

http://www.bps.org.uk/bps/roles/the-public.cfm this link will take you to a site that will give you information

 

[honeyquince]

Hi there,

I'm just coming toward the end of a years treatment with a psychologist. To start with we did a lot of talking about the issues I have and where I felt they stemmed from which was painfull but really usefull as it helped me to understand a little better what were the key issues. Essentially this was done in a counselling style. We then agreed what we could look at. What suprised me was that the response was very much looking at the here and now rather than all of the past stuff that we'd just been talking about and the sessions then went on to do a range of CBT type activities which didn't do anything for me as they didn't respond to the underlying issues that we had talked about (lots of stuff around my relationship with parents etc.). Every session tho was very positive and good to go to even if they didn't sort things out for me.

I'm now hoping to have some more psychotherapy as I'm under the care of the local crisis team (oops - there you go - I still have many issues even after a year!) and they might be able to wangle some more for me. I think I'll be a bit more assertive and ask for the approaches that I think will work for me.

Overall I would say if you get a chance to try psychotherapy then I would whole heartedy say go for it but go into it ready to be honest about yourself and don't expect a miracle.

I hope this helps - feel free to pm me if you'd like any further details.

Take care, xx

 

[Marchhare]

Very many thanks for the replies.
My problem is "trust" in the proffesionals which has built over the years. My most recent encounter with counselling has left me very wary as to what I say and to whom which aint a good start for psychology.
Thanks again

 

[nickh]

'Trust' is a big issue Marchhare. If you read people's experiences here then you will know that there is a vast range from positive to negative. It may be that we get a slight bias to the negative as people tend to talk more about those and also I guess many for whom anything works completely (and there are some!) may not be on a Forum like this.

My own range of experiences run the gamut from appalling to excellent. But even then I recognise that is wholly personal; what I found good others might find useless. Within any particular approach there will be both good and practitioners. So it is a question of finding a good practitioner of the approach which suits you - a very tall order! But when you do find someone it can enormously helpful - I have a wonderful psycho-therapist who if he has certainly not 'cured' my depression (there is no cure) has certainly helped me to understand it and did stop my substance abuse.

One thing I would say is that the responsibility for establishing trust rests with the practitioner not with you. That is a part of their job.

Good luck with it anyway.

 

[Bluemoon]

I spent time with a Psychologist for about a year or two and although she was brilliant at what she does, I found it to be a painful experience once things got going. I know it was necessary in order to get to the route of things but the anger that welled up from years past was hard to deal with. I lost my temper with my brother after we'd been drinking and I felt guilty about it the next day. Finally though I got to understand certain things and my Psychologist gave me a fresh perspective on my past problems. These days, although I do get a little ticked off when certain old memories surface, I feel that a lot of that pain has been dealt with and released.

 

[Marchhare]

Thanks. Its tomorrow, feel sick

 

[Dollit]

The sick feeling is just adrenaline. Tell us about it when you get back. All these people will be sat thinking and wishing you well.

 

[nickh]

Hope it goes (has gone?) well .

Nick.

 

[Marchhare]

After 2 sessions I have already lost hope. Nice person etc but wants to talk about my attitudes to the hear and now not about the past. I know we can't change the past but i feel its cluttering up a roon where I am trying to live.
These first few sessions are for assessment only so I am haunted by the possibility of another rejection/not good enough/not making the grade.
The first two visits I was stuck in mud and couldnt look at her or answer questions.
too late no hope
m

 

[Bluemoon]

RE: Marchhare

What you might find is that once you get going explaining about current feelings and attitudes your Psychologist may ( like in my case ) start to dig a little to find out what's making you feel the way you do. It's a lengthy process but with me we did end up going through my childhood and teenage years in order to find the route causes of certain feelings, emotions and attitudes. There can be a lot of back and forth thinking between the present and the past and sometimes I wondered why my Psychologist was asking certain questions, but they made a lot of sense when I answered them and she started to explain things. Lastly, I will add that I interacted with my Psychologist quite well and for most of the time had no problems answering her questions, however some of them made me feel quite uncomfortable to the point where I ended up feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Whatever happens though Marchhare, I wish you well and please don't give up hope as there are always possibilities. I once thought it was too late for me as well but time has proven differently .

 

[nickh]

Marchhare - it sounds (and I want to emphasise sounds!) as if the psychologist you have seen is taking a Cognitive approach - Cognitive approaches concentrate on the here and now and altering 'current' thinking. It also sounds from what you have said that this is probably not the right approach as far as you are concerned. I am being very tentative here because none of us here are professionals.

I can however relate to what you are saying in that Cognitive approaches proved useless in my own case and it was only when I found a psychologist with a quite different approach that I started to make progress by going back into the past and gaining understanding. For other people the Cognitive/present approach works well it should be said.

Now what ought to happen, if the therapist has been listening to you during this assessment, is that they recommend a suitable therapist for you as an individual. I hope this will happen. But if it does not then you have every right to insist that you are given access to appropriate treatment.

I should also say that other forms of psychotherapy which involve going into the past are a long and often difficult business; this may be why some therapists prefer to avoid them.

However it is certainly not too late and you should certainly not give up hope. I was nearing 50 when I got the right psychologist!! rolleyes: that may not be helpful but is an illustration). Let us know what they tell you the results of the assessment are.

Best,

Nick.

 

[Marchhare]

thanks Nick. She does keep mentioning CBT and is surprised that i have never been offered it before. (I'm 50+ and been unwell since late teens)
But that is the point! I have never been offered any type of talking thereapy until after my mother died 4yrs ago so i have a "life time" of baggage to unload. I know how to think postively and have picked myself up, on my own many times but this time I have run out of steam.
I received Bereavment Counciling 4 yrs ago which opened a "can of worms " as I have never talked "openly" before. That all went "pear shaped" with amongst other things funding. So if I am accepted will the funding run out leaving me and my issues suspended? and I need to be able to trust them before I even start.Its all so exhausting
Marchhare

 

[nickh]

Yes I'm afraid it is exhausting Marchhare. The disgraceful fact is that people often have very long waits/hard fights to get the kind of therapy they need. This is why I sometimes appear anti-CBT; not because I don't think it should be available - it definitely works for many people, but because of my suspicion that it can be used as a cheap/easy option avoiding the fact that for some people quite different, lengthier and more expensive kinds of talking therapy are necessary.

All I can say is to hang in there because it is worth it in the long run and wish you the very best of luck with it.

Nick.